Chapter 10: Establishing the Price - Pricing Factors Flashcards
How can risk premium be defined?
The expected ultimate cost in claims of the risk being accepted, including an allowance for the degree of uncertainty
Essentially it is the amount required to pay claims
What is a claims run-off?
Changes in claims reserves or claims being re-opened due to more information becoming available or court rulings on liability
What are latent claims?
Claims that takes many years to be reported. An example is mesothelioma from asbestos - some claims are being made for incidents which occurred 40-50 years ago.
Also called long tail claims
Similar to INBR but much more time has elapsed
What is meant by INBR?
Incurred but not reported
Estimated reserves based on expected claims for events that have occurred but not yet been reported to the insurer
How should claims data be adjusted to reflect exposure?
They should be adjusted to reflect exposures today. Claims data is historical and must be viewed within that context
For example in many industries technological advancements have automated some processes which previously would have been risky therefore it would not be accurate to price the risk based upon historical claims
What is claims farming?
Where a company (eg claims management company) or person encourages another to make a claim
What are the 4 main factors to take into consideration when setting the price?
- Risk premium (claims payments)
- Expenses
- Profit
- Taxes and levies
What are the two categories of expenses?
Fixed and variable
What is the difference between fixed and variable expenses?
Fixed expenses are the same cost for every policy, whereas variable expenses may change with the size of the risk
What are some examples of variable expenses?
Underwriting Risk management/surveys Commission Claims handling Risk management funds Low claims rebates
What is meant by return on capital employed?
The profit as a percentage of the capital employed
What is investment income?
Insurers control a large amount of capital in the common pool. Whilst they must retain certain levels of reserves they can also invest some capital, usually in low risk areas, which gives them another source of income
What is meant by “underwriting result” and what measures this?
The actual profit or loss of the insurer without taking investment income into account, as measured by the combined operating ratio
What is the combined operating ratio (COR)?
A combination of the loss ratio, commission ratio, and expense ratio
What does the COR measure?
The underwriting result. Essentially the financial health of the insurer
(COR is combined operating ratio)
What is a hard market?
When rates and premiums are increasing as a result of less capital in the market