Our glossary explains technical terms from the areas finance and reinsurance. We hope it facilitates the understanding of our texts, publications and annual reports. If you have comments or suggestions, please use our
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Securitisation instruments
Innovative instruments for transferring reinsurance business to the capital markets with the goal of refinancing or placing insurance risks.
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Segmental reporting
Presentation of items from the annual financial statements separated according to functional criteria such as segments and regions.
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Special Purpose Entity (SPE)
Legal structure with specific characteristics not bound to a certain form of organisation used to conduct defined activities or to hold assets.
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Specialty insurance
A specialty form of non-life primary insurance that focuses on narrowly defined, homogenous portfolios of niche or other non-standard risks (specialty business), whereby the typical insurer functions (acquisition, underwriting, policy issuing, premium collection, policy administration, claims settlement, etc.) can be outsourced to specialized managing general agents (MGAs)or third-party administrators (TPAs).
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Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, SFAS (also:Financial Accounting Standards, FAS)
The accounting and reporting standards published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board; since 15 September 2009 superseded by FASB ASC.
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Spread loss treaty
Treaty between an insurer and a reinsurer that covers risks of a defined portfolio over a multi-year period.
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Structured products
Reinsurance with limited potential for profits and losses; the primary objective is to strive for risk equalisation over time and to stabilise the cedant’s balance sheet.
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Surplus reinsurance
Form of proportional reinsurance under which the risk is not spread between the insurer and reinsurer on the basis of a previously agreed, set quota share. Instead, the insurer determines a maximum sum insured per risk up to which it is prepared to be liable. Risks that exceed the ceding company’s retention (surpluses) are borne by the reinsurer. The reinsurer’s lines thus vary according to the level of the retention and the sum insured of the reinsured contract. The reinsurer’s liability is generally limited to a multiple of the ceding company’s retention.
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Surplus relief treaty
A portfolio reinsurance contract under which an admitted reinsurer assumes (part of) a ceding company’s business to relieve stress on the cedant’s policyholders’ surplus.
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Survival ratio
Reflects the ratio of loss reserves to paidlosses under a specific contract or several contracts in abalance sheet year.
