Chapter 26&27: Accounting: Methods and Interpretation Flashcards

1
Q

2 Distinct methods used by general insurers to present their accounts

A
  • annual (or accident year) accounts

- funded (or underwriting year) accounts

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2
Q

Annual (or accident year) accounts

A

Consider all income earned and outgo incurred in a year

and permit the release of profits at the end of that year.

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3
Q

Funded (or underwriting year) accounts

A

Consider the business written in each year

and do not permit the release of profits until the end of a subsequent year (usually the 3rd year)

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4
Q

the term “accident year”

A

refers to a GROUPING of claims
… according to the year in which the LOSS EVENT ACTUALLY OCCURRED,

… irrespective of when they are reported or paid, and the year in which cover commenced.

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5
Q

the term “underwriting year”

A

refers to a GROUPING of claims
… according to the year in which COVER COMMENCED,

… irrespective of when the loss event occurred, and when the claims are reported or paid.

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6
Q

Annual accounting considerations:

Income

A

earned premiums, reinsurance recoveries received or accrued when the relevant claim has been recognised / paid, investment income, and changes in premium reserves / risk reserves / reinsurance reserves.

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7
Q

Annual accounting considerations:

Outgo

A

claims, claims handling expenses and other expenses paid and changes in claims outstanding (including IBNR) in the accounting period, reinsurance premiums, commissions, profit commissions, underwriting charges / taxes.

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8
Q

Annual accounting considerations:

Assets

A
  • deferred acquisition costs
  • reinsurers’ share of unearned premium reserves
  • reinsurers’ share of claims outstanding

When policies are written the insurer pays commission and other initial expenses. At the accounting date those acquisition costs have been paid out but not wholly incurred for any policy that is unexpired at the time, just as part of the premium received has not yet been earned. (You could think of them as ‘unincurred expenses’, but the name ‘DAC’ is universally used.) DAC is usually a significant asset in the insurer’s accounts. It is like a negative reserve. Decreasing DAC reduces the insurer’s profit, just as increasing reserves does.

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9
Q

Annual accounting considerations:

Liabilities

A
  • unearned premium reserve
  • additional unexpired risk reserve
  • claims outstanding
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10
Q

3 components of profit for a given year

A

profit = money in - money out - increase in reserves

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11
Q

4 components of “Money in”

A
  • Gross premiums written
  • Reinsurance and other recoveries
  • Investment income on insurance funds
  • Reinsurance commission received
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12
Q

4 Components of “Money out”

A
  • Gross claims paid
  • Reinsurance premiums paid
  • Expenses paid
  • Commission paid
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13
Q

3 components of “Increase in reserves”

A
  • Increase in outstanding claims reserves
  • Increase in unearned premiums
  • Decrease in deferred acquisition costs
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14
Q

The conventional format:

Underwriting result

A

Underwriting result = Premiums - Claims - Expenses + Increase in DAC

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15
Q

The conventional format:

Insurance result

A

Insurance result = Underwriting result + Investment income

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16
Q

Net premiums written (2 components)

A

net premiums written = gross premiums written - reinsurance premiums paid

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17
Q

Net premiums earned (3 components)

A

net premiums earned =
net premiums written
+ unearned premiums brought forward (net of reinsurance)
- unearned premiums carried forward (net of reinsurance)

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18
Q

net claims incurred (4 components)

A

net claims incurred =
gross claims paid
- reinsurance and other recoveries
+ outstanding claim reserve carried forward (net of reinsurance)
- outstanding claim reserve brought forward (net of reinsurance)

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19
Q

Net Expenses (paid) (3 components)

A

net expenses =
commission paid
+ expenses paid
- reinsurance commission received

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20
Q

The profit and loss account:

Profit before taxation

A
insurance profit
\+   other investment income
\+   profits from other activities
-    interest on loans
=   PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION
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21
Q

The profit and loss account:

Retained profits

A
PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION
-    Taxation
=   PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS
-    Dividends
=   RETAINED PROFITS
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22
Q

The balance sheet:

Total assets

A

Fixed assets
+ Investments
+ Other current assets

= TOTAL ASSETS

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23
Q

The balance sheet:

Shareholders’ net assets

A
TOTAL ASSETS
-   Current liabilities
-   Deferred taxation
-   Unearned premium reserve
\+  Deferred acquisition costs
-   Outstanding claims reserve
=  SHAREHOLDERS' NET ASSETS
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24
Q

The balance sheet:

Shareholders’ funds

A
Share capital
\+   Share premium account
\+   Profit and loss account
\+   Revaluation reserve
=   SHAREHOLDERS FUNDS
25
Q

How is the revaluation reserve used

A

The revaluation reserve is increased each year by the net write up for unrealised gains.
If asset values fall sharply, the company might reduce the revaluation reserve.

26
Q

Share capital

A

The number of shares multiplied by the par value of each share

27
Q

Share premium account

A

The aggregate of the excess paid for the shares (when issued) above the share’s par value.

28
Q

Fixed assets

A

The basic items the company needs to operate, such as offices, vehicles and computer equipment.

29
Q

What problems might arise if assets are valued at full market market value in the balance sheet?

A
  • The apparent financial strength would be very volatile (reflecting the volatility of market values)
  • The financial strength would be overstated if the market values were on a “high”
30
Q

2 Key reasons why three-year accounting might be preferred to one-year accounting

A
  • areas where underwriting years are fundamentally important (e.g. reinsurance / Lloyds)
  • delays in premium and claims settlement
31
Q

Accounting principles:

Going concern

A

The enterprise will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

32
Q

Accounting principles:

Accruals basis

A

Revenue and costs are recognised as they are earned or incurred, not as money is received or paid.

33
Q

Accounting principles:

Consistency

A

There is consistency of accounting treatment of like items within each accounting period and from one period to the next.

34
Q

Accounting principles:

Prudence and realisation

A

Revenue and profits are not anticipated (that is, they must be realised),

and provision is made for all known liabilities,

  • whether the amount of these is known with certainty
  • or is a best estimate in the light of the information available.
35
Q

Accounting principles:

Separate valuation of assets and liabilities

A

When determining the aggregate amount of any item,

the enterprise must determine separately the amount of each individual asset or liability that makes up that item.

36
Q

“Prudence”

A

My version - inclusion of a degree of caution when making estimates when uncertainty exists. such that gains or assets are not overstated and losses or liabilities are not understated.

but note that it includes a reference to best estimate and not really including a separate margin.

37
Q

Underwriting profit (from the revenue account)

A

The excess of earned premiums over incurred claims and expenses.

38
Q

Insurance profit (from the profit and loss or revenue account)

A

The underwriting profit plus the investment income earned on the technical reserves.
The insurance profit represents the profit achieved through writing insurance business.

39
Q

Profit before tax (from the profit and loss account)

A

This is the insurance profit plus investment income from other assets (ie the free reserves).
This is the total profit earned by the shareholders’funds.

40
Q

Retained profit (from the profit and loss account)

A

This is the profit remaining after payment of tax and dividends.

41
Q

Total shareholders’ funds (from the balance sheet)

A

This is the excess of assets over liabilities. It is a measure of the financial strength of the company.

42
Q

Claim ratio

A

incurred claims /

earned premiums

43
Q

Expense ratio

A

expenses paid /

written premiums

44
Q

Commission rate

A

commission paid /

written premiums

45
Q

Combined ratio

A

Expense ratio + Claim ratio

a.k.a. operating or underwriting ratio

46
Q

Proportion reinsured

A

NET written premiums /
GROSS written premiums

(or alternatively, its compliment)

47
Q

Investment performance ratio

A

investment return /

average asset value during the year

48
Q

Return on capital

A

post-tax profit /
free reserves at the start of the year

if you are looking at the balance sheet and P&L for the same year, then you need to adjust free reserves at the end of the year (eg. minus profit, tax, dividend) to get the BOY resreves. Q.4,A2015

49
Q

Solvency ratio

A

free reserves /

net written premiums

50
Q

Profit margin

A

Insurance profit /

net earned premium

51
Q

5 Key widely-used accounting concepts

A
  • Consistency
  • Going-concern
  • Prudence and realisation
  • Accruals basis
  • Separate valuation of assets and liabilities
52
Q

Reports on accounting:

General point

A

These ratios are based upon published accounts. So the figures will be distorted due to the strength of the reserving basis and other accounting conventions, such as the treatment of depreciation and DAC.

For a sale and purchase we would need to consider accounts prepared on a realistic basis.

53
Q

Reports on accounting:

Points to include

A
  • General point
  • Growth in premium income
  • Claim ratio
  • Expense ratio
  • Solvency ratio
  • Asset/Liability ratio
  • Return on capital employed
  • Indication of the length of tail
  • Investment return
    Also, investment portfolio - riskiness?
  • Taxation
  • Dividends
54
Q

Capital in BOY and Assets at EOY - how are they linked?

A

The accumulated capital, plus the accumulated premiums (net of expenses) less the accumulated claims paid must equal the assets at the end of the year.

55
Q

Interpretation of ratios - increase in LR

A

Loss ratio
The relatively substantial increase could be due to:  severe losses in 2007, or just poor attritional claims experience  change in the mix of business (likely due to growing business)  less stringent terms and conditions or poor underwriting  a reduction in premium rates  inappropriate rating structure leading to anti-selection  inefficiencies or mismanagement in claims handling  a shift to a more prudent reserving philosophy  a change in reinsurance structure leading to fewer recoveries  failure of a reinsurer or reinsurer dispute.

56
Q

Interpretation of ratios - decrease in ER

A

Reduced due to a higher increase in net written premium relative to the increase in total expenses. The improved commission ratio is a key driver.
Reasons for the reduction could be:  economies of scale due to growth, and spreading of fixed costs  other improvements in operational efficiency  a change in intermediary or renegotiated commission rates  more business written in classes with lower commission rates  more business being sold direct  high marketing spend during 2006, with the associated increase in business written during 2007
 other high unusual costs in 2006, eg an IT upgrade  a reduction in premium rates, which might have led to higher volumes  an increase in premium rates, leading to higher premium income  a change in reinsurance leading to lower reinsurance premiums  a reduction in profit-sharing payments.

57
Q

Interpretation of ratios - Operating ratio

A

Increased due to deterioration in the loss ratio, partly offset by the improvement in the expense ratio.
Distortion because denominators for the ratios are not the same, but not likely to be significant in this case because the earned and written premiums have performed similarly over the period

58
Q

Interpretation of ratios - decrease in solvency ratio

A

Deteriorated significantly due to significant increase in net written premium and a decrease in free reserves.
The increase in net written premiums could be due to:  increased premium rates  decreased premium rates leading to an increase in business volumes  aggressive sales / marketing strategy  improved relationships with brokers  less use of reinsurance  a lack of capacity in the market leading to higher business volumes.
The decrease in free reserves could be due to:  the poor claims experience in 2007  deteriorations on prior years
an overly aggressive expansion strategy causing new business strain  a change in regulation requiring a more stringent reserving basis  a distribution of capital to shareholders  a deterioration in investment return  a reduction in the market value of the insurer’s assets  failure of a third party