Chapter 8 Flashcards
What is a reinsurance arangement?
business deal that two companies make for the transfer of risk from one company to the other.
define block of business
number of similar insurance policies.
Define a “case”
single policy or group of policies involved in a reinsurance arrangement
reinsurance arrangements become legally binding o the parties involved via reinsurance agreement. Define this.
treaty- document that contains the terms of the reinsurance business to be conducted, including nature of the risk transfer, reinsurance information procedures, information exchanges and the rights and duties of each party under the arrangement.
Define direct writer
ceeding company- insurance company that purchases reinsurance to transfer - cede- all or part of the risks on insurance policies the company issues
Define reinsurer
reinsurance company or an assuming company
insurer that provides reinsurance coverage by accepting or assuming insurnace risk from a direct writer
what is a retrocessionaire?
reinsurer that accepts risk from - and provides reinsurance- to another reinsurer.
what do you call the reinsurer that transfers risk to a retrocessionaiure?
retrocedent
Define solvency laws-
designed to ensure that insurance companies are financially able to meet their debts and to pay policy benefits when they come due.
define policy reserve
liability that identifies the amoun tthat, together wiht future premiums and investment earings, represents the expected amount of future benefits payable on an an insurer’s in-force business
Reinsurnace can be divided into two broad categories. Name them
assumption reinsurnace
indemnity reinsurance.
Define assumption reinsurnace
designed to permanently and entirely transfer blocks of existing insurance business from one ccompany to another.
When do life insurance companies use assumption reinsurance?
- exit a line of business by ceding the business to RI
- enter a new line of business or expand its participation in an existing line of business by assuming a line of business frm another insurer.
- complete the purchase and sale of an entire insurance company
reinsurers issue new insurance certificates known as assumption certificates to all affected policyowners. What is this?
an insurance certificate issued on an existing insurance pllicy by a reinsurer that has assumed the risk of the policy as a results of an assumption reinsurance transaction.
Define indemnity reinsurance
a direct write tansfers a stated portion of its accepted risk to a reinsurer, and the reinsurer is obligated to reimburse the direct writer only agter the direct write pays benefits for reinsured policies.
RI agrees to to pay part of of the claim obligations in exchange for a reinsurance premium. Define this
periodic payement made by a direct writer to a reinsurer as compensation for the reinsurance coverage.
Indeminity reinsurance takes one of which two forms?
- finitie reinsurance
2. traditional indemnity reinsurance.
Define Traditional indemnity reinsurance.
form of RI that is used to transfer a portion of a direct writer;s accepted risk on an ongoing basis and that is intended to be a perm transfer
- transfer risk rather than in-force business.
Tradiotional indemnity reinsurance arrangements allow for the termination of the entrire arrangement under what circumstances?
- mutual agreement
2. automatically if one of the parties fail to meet its financial obligations on time.
IS recapture permitted in assumption reinsurance or traditional indemnity reinsurance?
Traditional
What are the benefits of indemnity reinsurance for the direct writer?
- manage capacity
- ease surplus strain
- reduce fluctuations in claim payments
- obtain information and expertise.
- transfer risk of policies.
What are the limits with reinsurance and the direct writer?
- the amount of coverage it can approve or afford to pay on a single risk
- the total amount of risk it can accept.
Define underwriting capacity
the max monetary amount of risk that the company will accept on an individual insured so that unusual fluctuations in claims will not damage the ongoing solvency of the company.
What is included in an underwriting capacity limit?
- the amount of risk a direct writer transfers to reinsurers
- The direct writers retention limit
Define retention limit
a specified max amount of insurance per life that an insurer is willing to carry at its own risk without transferring some of the risks to a reinsurer.
Define financial capacity
the total monetary amount of risk the company can accept based on the investable funds it has available to write a new business.
For an insurer, what is surplus?
the amount of assets the company has over and above its policy reserves and other financial obligations.
What do you call the decrease in surplus caused by the high initial costs and reserve requirements associated with issuing new insurance policies?
surplus stain.
What do you call the decrease in potential surplus stain? what strengthens an insurer’s financial position?
surplus relief.
What is a cession?
the unit of insurance risk that a direct writer transfers to a reinsurer.
Transfers of cession are managed thorugh a cession arrangement. Define this.
identifies 1) the direct writers obligations and rights to cede risk 2) the reinsurer obligations to accept risk as well as its rights to reject risk.
Define automatic reinsurance
a reinsurance cession arrangement in which the direct writer agrees in advance to cede all risk that meet the specifications in the reinsurance agreement and the reinsurer agrees in advance to assume these risks.
Define retention limit
specified max of monetary amount of insurance per life that an insuere is willing to carry at its own risk without transferring some of the risk to RI.
Define automatic binding limit
represents the max monetary amount of risk the reinsurer will accept auto without reviewing the case
Define minimum cession
the smallest monertary amount of risk a direct writer will cede or RI will accept in auto cessasion.