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
Coverage for bodily injury and property damage liability excluded under standard ocean marine insurance. Coverage includes protection of wharfs, docks, and harbors; bodily injury; cost of ...
Payment of benefits by an insurance policy to a policy owner (usually the insured) if a loss occurs. ...
Total limit of coverage under all policies applicable to the covered loss for which an insured can be indemnified. For example, if two health insurance policies are in force on the same ...
laws enacted by all of the 50 states whose purpose it is to reduce or eliminate the volunteer's civil liability exposure. An ideal law would exclude the volunteer from civil liability ...
Camera and related equipment coverage found in inland marine insurance. ...
Professional designation earned after the successful completion of four national examinations given by the insurance institute of America (IIA). Covers such areas of expertise as insurance ...
recipient. insurance company that receives a premium payment from a payer. insured or beneficiary who receives a loss or benefit payment from an insurer. ...
Insurance contract that cannot be cancelled by the insurance company. Since the insurance policy is a UNILATERAL CONTRACT instead of a BILATERAL CONTRACT, the INSURED may cancel at will. ...
Plan under which life insurance is substituted for retirement income. Under the plan, a married individual selects a single life annuity payout from the pension plan, which will generate ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.