Health Insurance Futures
Definition of "Health insurance futures"
One-year futures contract (standardized agreement between two parties to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument on an organized futures exchange such as the CBOT within some future time period at a present stipulated price), traded at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), which would allow health insurance companies and self-insured employers to hedge their losses. The essential design of this contract is such that when actual claims exceed expected claims by amount "X," the futures contract would increase by the same amount "X." The financial instrument that forms the basis of this futures contract is an index that reflects the claims experience of ten health insurance companies. By buying futures contracts that will appreciate in the future as claims increase in the future, insurance companies and self-insured employers can profit from increasing futures prices through which they can offset their losses. Accordingly, by selling futures contracts that will decline in the future, these organizations can profit from decreasing futures prices that can be used to offset smaller cash flow. For example, if a health insurance company buys a futures contract for $40,000 and then sells it for $50,000, the company will recognize a profit of $10,000, which can be used to pay the higher than expected claims incurred. The cost effectiveness of hedging through the buying and selling of futures contracts depends on high correlations between expected claims payments and the futures contracts prices. If there is a low correlation between expected claims payments and the futures contracts prices, the less cost effective the hedge becomes. Thus, it is critical for the insurance company or the self-insured employer to establish the correlation between its block of business and the health insurance futures index.
Popular Insurance Terms
Method of depreciating an asset in which its useful life is divided into an appropriate number of years (or other periods), the final salvage value is deducted, and the asset is written off ...
Payment by the insurance company to the insured for the actual expenses incurred by the insured, such as medical expenses. ...
Contributions to a pension plan on a fixed basis according to a formula, with variable benefits. Contributions can be made under an allocated funding instrument (paid to an insurance ...
Transaction by a tax-exempt organization with a person from inside the organization (disqualified person) that provides an economic benefit to that person that is in excess of the value of ...
Type of inland marine insurance that provides coverage for jewels, watches, gold, silver, platinum, pearls, precious and semiprecious stones. Property can be owned by the insured jeweler, ...
Modification of the major medical insurance policy that provides coverage for the terminating employee who otherwise would not be covered by a health insurance policy. Usually, this ...
Assembly of people formed only for obtaining group insurance. Such a group is uninsurable and violates underwriting principles concerning group insurance. ...
Real property (structure (s) attached to the land) that is occupied and/or is under the care, custody, or control of an individual, individuals, or an organization for which an insurance ...
State law that stipulates the establishment of required reserves for claims made basis liability coverage contracts, removes the excess statutory reserves, and directs that all amounts that ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.