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WhatisReinsurance?Reinsuranceisinsuranceforinsurancecompanies.Manyinsurersaroundtheworldpurchasereinsurancetoreducetheirexposuretotheriskstheyhaveunderwritteninordertoprovidebetterprotectiontotheirclients.Whiletheconceptmaybesimple,likemostindustries,reinsurancehasaterminologythatcanbedifficulttointerpretforthosewhodonotuseitonadailybasis.AtPartnerRe,wethoughtaglossaryofreinsurancetermsmighthelpde-mystifythebusinessanditslanguage.AcquisitionCostsExpensesincurredbytheinsurerorthereinsurerinassessingbusiness,includingproducercommissionsandbrokerage.AdjustableRateApercentagerateappliedtoacedent’ssumsinsuredorpremiumincomewhichisusedtodeterminethefinalpremiumpayable.AggregateDeductibleAlosslimitwhichisretainedbythecedentandisgraduallyerodedbyfrequencyoflossactivity.AggregateLimitThemaximumsumofrecoveriespayableunderareinsuranceagreement.AlternativeRiskTransfer(ART)Non-traditionalmethodsofinsuranceorreinsurance,forexample,securitization.AssumeThetermusedforacceptingarisk;theoppositeofcede.AttachmentBasisAprovisionthatdetermineswhether,andinwhatmanner,areinsuranceagreementcoversaspecificloss.AttachmentPointInexcessoflossreinsurance,thelosslevelatwhichreinsurersbegintopay.BalanceAreferencepointusedtomeasurepremiumvolumeagainstthemaximumexposureforareinsuranceagreement.BankThesumofthetotalpremiumspaidtoreinsurersoveramulti-yearperiod,lessanylossespaidbyreinsurersonalayer.Forexample,paymentsof$10,000premiumsoverfiveloss-freeyearswouldbecalleda$50,000bank.BrokerMarketWhenbusinessiswrittenthroughreinsuranceintermediaries(brokers),itisreferredtoasbusinessobtainedintheBrokerMarket.BrokerofRecordTheappointedbrokerforacontractualreinsuranceagreement.BurningCostRatioAtoolusedindeterminingratesforexcessoflossreinsurance.Alsocalledthe‘purelosscost’,itistheratioofhistoricalincurredlosses(usuallyexcludingIBNRandindexedtoportfoliogrowth)ofareinsuranceagreementtothesubjectpremium.CapacityThemaximumdollaramountofexposurethataninsurerorreinsurercanunderwrite.Capacitymaybeusedwhenreferringtoasinglerisk,aprogram,alineofbusinessoranentirebookofbusiness.CaptiveAninsuranceorreinsurancecompany,formedbyalarge,oftenmulti-nationalcorporation,whichinsuresorreinsurestherisksofitsparentcorporation.Mostcaptivesarelocatedintax-advantagedlocations.BermudaistheleadingdomicileforcaptivesfollowedbyCayman,VermontandGuernsey.CasualtyReinsuranceLiabilityorthirdpartybusiness.CatastropheHighseverityeventssuchashurricanes,earthquakesandotherdisasters,involvingmultipleinsuredsand/orlocations.Catastrophereinsuranceindemnifiestheinsurerforportionsofsuchlosses.CedentAninsurancecompanywhichcontractuallytransfers(cedes)aportionofrisktoareinsurer.Thetermcanalsorefertoareinsurerwhichtransfers(cedes)aportionofitsportfoliotoaretrocessionnaire.CedingCommissionThecostsincurredbythecedentinnegotiatingareinsurancecontractincludingoverheadexpenses,taxes,licensesandfees,plusafeerepresentingashareofexpectedprofits,sometimesexpressedasapercentageofthegrossreinsurancepremium.ClashCoverAformofreinsuranceprotectingacedent’sexposuretomultipleretentionsandalargersinglelossthanintendedduetolossesincurredbytwoormoreinsuredsforthesameevent,orclash.CoinsuranceThepartofthereinsurancecoverthattheinsurancecompanyretainsanddoesnotreinsure.CombinedRatioThesumofthelossratioandtheexpenseratio.Thecombinedratioisusedinbothreinsuranceandinsurancetoindicatewhetherthecompanyismakingaprofitonitsunderwritingoperations.Acombinedratiobelow100%isrepresentativeofaprofitableunderwritingportfolio.CommutationTheconclusionofallobligationsbetweenthepartiestoareinsuranceagreement,oftencompletedwithalumpsumcashsettlement.CoverNoteThedocumentorreceiptissuedbytheintermediarytothecedentconfirmingtermsandconditionsandthepercentageshareplacedwitheachreinsurer.DirectMarketWhenreinsurancebusinessiswrittendirectlybyareinsurer,ratherthanthroughathirdpartyorbroker,itisreferredtoasbusinessobtainedintheDirectMarket.DirectWrittenPremiumAninsurer’spremiumincomebeforetakingoutwardreinsuranceintoaccount.EarnedPremiumTheportionofareinsurer’spremiumincomewhichhasbeenallocatedtothecurrentaccountingperiod.EstimatedMaximumLoss(EML)Anunderwriter’sorinsurer’sassessmentoftheworstpossiblelossscenariothatmightbeexperiencedbyanindividualriskorcollectionofrisks.Event/OccurrenceAnaturalorman-madedisasterwhichgivesrisetoalargeloss.ExcessofLossReinsuranceAformofreinsurancewherethereinsurer’sliabilityonlytakeseffectwhenaneventinvolvingseveralrisksexceedsacertainfigureandthenisonlyliableinexcessofthatamount.ExpenseRatioThepercentageofpremiumincomethatgoestoexpenses,calculatedbydividingincurredexpensesbywrittenpremiums.Areinsurancecompany’sexpenseratioreflectshowmuchitcostsacompanytoacquireitspremiums.ExposureThemeasureofaninsurer’sorreinsurer’spossiblelosses.ExtraContractualObligations(ECO)Atermusedtorefertodamagesawardedbyacourtagainstaninsurerwhichareoutsidetheconditionsoftheinsurancepolicy.Examplesarepunitivedamagesandlossesinexcessofpolicylimits.FacultativeReinsuranceAformofreinsurancewheretheinsurerhastheoption(faculty)ofsubmittingi