Exam 2 Flashcards
Balance Sheet
A summary of the company’s overall financial position as of a given financial statement date
Structure of Balance Sheet
Assets = Liabilities + Surplus meaning assets are on the left side and liabilities and surplus on the right side
Income Statement
Reflects the activities of a company for a certain time period, a span of time
Three major components of Income Statement
Profit (or Loss) = Revenues - (Losses/Benefits and Expenses)
Reserve
The amount of money that an insurance company must set aside to pay future obligations to the policyholders. Typically the largest liability for most insurance companies
Two major liabilities for a P&C insurance company
Loss reserves and unearned premium reserves
Loss Reserves
Claims incurred (that have happened) but are not yet paid. An estimated amount for:
- Claims reported and adjusted, but not yet paid
- Claims reported and filed, but not yet adjusted
- Claims incurred but not yet reported to the company
Case Reserve
A loss reserve established for each individual claim when it is reported but not yet adjusted. It is typical to set this for individual claims (but not group claims). Methods for calculating include:
- Judgment Method
- Average Value Method
- Tabular Value Method
Incurred-but-not-reported (IBNR) Reserve
Reserve set for claims that have been incurred but have not been reported to the company yet
- Used for losses that occur close to year-end
- Policyholders report the claim in the new year even though it occurred in the prior year
- Must be estimated because the exact amount is unknown
Unearned Premium Reserves
Premiums received, but not yet earned
Surplus
The difference between an insurance company’s assets and liabilities
What is surplus initially set by?
Capital paid by stockholders (stock company) and excess premiums paid by policyholders (mutual company)
How can surplus be distributed?
Through dividends which decrease surplus. Companies have to make sure they maintain enough surplus to run the business when deciding on the size of dividends
Reporting Losses
The insurance company has an obligation to pay the claim when a loss occurs. Takes time for the claim to be reported and for the insurance company to decide who is at fault and how much should be paid
Reasons for Insurance Regulations
- Maintain Insurer Solvency
- Compensate for inadequate consumer knowledge
- Ensure reasonable rates that are neither excessive nor inadequate
Commerce Clause
Federal government has authority to regulate interstate commerce
10th Amendment
Powers not explicitly given to the federal government are reserved for the states
Paul vs. Virginia (1868)
Supreme court ruled insurance was not interstate commerce, and that the states (not federal government) had right to regulate the insurance. The reversal of this threw the industry in turmoil.
South-Eastern Underwriters Association (1944)
When the supreme court reversed itself and said insurance is interstate commerce when conducted across state lines
Sherman Anti-trust law
- Prohibit business activities deemed to be anti-competitive
- Prevent “per se” violations: any agreement to boycott, coerce, or intimidate
- Prohibit price fixing
McCarran-Ferguson Act (1945)
Continued regulation and taxation of the insurance industry by the states are in the public interest
- Federal antitrust laws apply to the insurance only to the extent that the insurance industry is not regulated by state law
- Stated that insurance is commerce
- Insurers/rating bureaus are exempt from federal antitrust law, provided activities are subject to state law, and do not involve boycott, coercion, or intimidation
- States respond by formalizing state-level laws and regulations
Three principal methods used to regulate insurers
- Legislation - through both state and federal laws
- Court decisions - Interpreting policy provisions
- State insurance departments
- Most active for day-to-day regulation
- Implements laws, helps draft regulations
Four basic aspects of National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
- Voluntary participation by state insurance departments
- Its goal is to encourage greater uniformity, cooperation, and coordination of laws and regulations
- It produces model laws & regulations that individual states can adopt which will be uniform across the country
- The NAIC has no authority on its own beyond what state’s give it. States can choose to modify or ignore the model laws and regulations
Areas of State Insurance Regulation
- Formation & Licensing of Insurers
- Solvency
- Rate Regulation
- Policy Forms (Approval)
- Sales Practices/Consumer Protection
- Taxation
- Miscellaneous: Cybersecurity
Types of Licenses for Insurance Companies
- Domestic: Located within the state
- Foreign: Out-of-state insurer that is chartered by another state, but licensed to operate in the state
- Alien: Insurer that is chartered by a foreign country, but is licensed to operate in the state