Ch 23: Contract design Flashcards
List the 7 key parties involved in contract design
Actuaries
* Initial pricing
* Determine reserves and design process
Lawyers
* Draft contract ensure no extra benefits provided
Providers of benefits
* Want contract that meet their needs in cost effective way
* Providers needs influenced by: Market,capital,liquidity,expertise
Accountants
* Ensure income.outgo accounted for correctly
Customers
* Customers needs influenced by: premiums,risks covered,risk appetite
Administrators
* Ensure contract is administered
Shareholders / financial backers
* want reports on how finance is being used
ALPACAS
List 18 factors to consider when designing or redesigning a contract
Administration systems Marketability Profitability Level and form of benefits Early leavers benefits
Discretionary benefits Interests and needs of customers Risk appetite of the parties involved Expenses vs charges Competition Terms and conditions of the contract
Financing (capital requirements) Accounting implications Consistency with other products Timing of contributions or premiums Options and guarantees Regulatory requirements Subsidies (cross-)
AMPLE DIRECT FACTORS
List the factors influencing the needs of the provider
3
- The chosen market
- The capital available
- The expertise available
List the factors influencing the needs of the customer
4
- The capacity to pay
- The risks they need to be covered
- The benefits that are needed at different times in the future
- Attitude to financial risk
Give examples of how a contract can be designed to cater for different risk appetites amongst customers
2
- Different investment funds , e.g. low, medium and high risk
- Different levels of cover, e.g. comprehensive vs third party
Give examples of how the regulatory environment may influence the design of a product
4
- Products must meet regulatory requirements.
- Products can be designed to benefit from favorable financial or taxation regimes.
- Products should be designed to ensure that initial expense can be recouped if a policy is cancelled within any regulatory ‘cooling-off’ period. Otherwise make loss on initial expenses
- Regulation may require information to be disclosed to potential customers, for example discontinuance terms.
TCF:
* Ensure fair treatment of customers across the entire product life cycle
* Design,pricing,promotion,advice and servicing.claims processing,complaints management
Give the variables that influence profitability of a contract
5
- Claims experience: Mort. morb, freq,severity
- Expenses and inflation
- Investment returns
- Withdrawal experience
- NUB sale volumes and mix
Give examples of contract design features that make a contract more marketable
4,3
- Guarantees, options and choices
- A competitive (low) price
- Transparency and simple to understand
- Features that distinguish it from the competitors
- Target market changes design
- lower income: simple features reduce cost and incr understanding
- higher income: more coomplex products that change with circumstances.
Give the competitive factors that need to be considered in contract design
2
- Price
Lowest price price = higher volumes, so design to cover basic needs to keep costs down as easily comparable - Product features
Compared on features available. Can recieve selective business/ innovate with unseen features
State the Level and form of benefits offered
3
- Amount covered
- Regular payment/ One-off benefit
- Vary with customer needs and cost of contributions
Options and Guarantees
2
- Options
One party has choice and other sets terms
eg WOP option: stop premiums and change level of benefits
eg change level of premiums and renewal options - Guarantees
eg Basic sum assured is guaranteed to increase with inflation. Minimum maturity values
List examples of guarantees that might be offered as part of a contract design
6
- Guaranteed benefits
- Guaranteed minimum maturity value
- Guaranteed minimum growth rate
- Guaranteed annuity rates
- Guaranteed premiums
- Guaranteed charges
Discretionary benefits
3
- Surplus is shared with policyholders
- Can be through:
With profits
No claim discounts/bonuses
Reduction in premiums - Main consideration is PH resonable expectations
Discontinuance benefits
1,4
- Benefit provided on voluntarily stopping premiums
Can be provided on:
* Surrender: The policy stops, there is no further cover and the policyholder receives a lump sum payment SV
- Lapse: The policy stops, there is no further cover and usually no payment is made to the policyholder
- Paid-up: The policyholder ceases to pay premiums but the policy continues to offer the policyholder some cover. Benefit reduced to paid up value
- Withdrawal:This normally encompasses surrender and lapse, as the policy does not stay in force.
Factors to consider when determining discontinuance terms
6
Fairness, hence the starting point will be the ‘asset share’ of the contract (a current value determined retrospectively from the accumulation of net cashflows)
Other factors include:
- PRE
- New business disclosure and any subsequent communications
- competition
- regulation / legislation affecting discontinuance terms
- administration expenses of determining and implementing the terms
- ease of calculation and frequency of change of terms