Reinsurance
A reinsurance ( also called Reassekuranz ) serves the risk management of a single insurance company. Task is mainly the risk of default by major losses (insured for protection ) as well as damage the detriment of insurers to minimize ( insurer for protection ).
Definition
This form of insurance is entered into to hedge individual risks or entire portfolios ( number of individual risks with common characteristics ). Wholly or even partially under conditions to be negotiated in the reinsurance ratio by (usually) an insurance company transfer risk to another insurance company ( assignee, usually a special reinsurance company ) ( ceded ). The original insurance company is not dissolved, nor intervened in its regulatory content. The contract is therefore not changed. The insurer shall remain liable alone for benefits under the insurance contract the insured. On the other hand, the insurer receives a claim with the policyholder ( partial) services reimbursed by the reinsurer to the extent that the risk incurred was covered by reinsurance. A distinction is made between the refund in a certain quota ( quota share reinsurance ) or minus a certain deductible of the primary insurer ( Exzedentenrückversicherung ).
Reinsurance is also referred to as "the insurance, the insurer ". In § 779 paragraph 1 HGB A. F. ( Admiralty ) was defined as insurance, reinsurance assumed by the insurer risk.
The term must be clearly distinguished from other insurance law terms such as retroactive insurance and backdating.
Active / Passive reinsurance
A distinction is made between active and passive reinsurance.
Assumed reinsurance describes the business of a reinsurer to offer other insurers or reinsurance reinsurance protection. It can also act as a primary insurer reinsurer. Assumed reinsurance is also called Assumed reinsurance business or offline business.
Asking a first or a reinsurer, reinsurance protection after it is ceded reinsurance.
Organizational benefits of reinsurance
Reinsurance contribute to the fact that they share the burden of the risk among several insurers to greater continuity and security of the business. They allow the insurer to assume coverage for large risks ( such as aircraft, industrial plants or the liability of entire corporations ). The insured does not have to enter into contracts with various insurance companies.
Similarly, the reinsurers provide the retrocession risk equalization among themselves. In this way, in addition to a balanced " risk spread" ( industry mix ), a global risk compensation sought. It is also therefore a geographically broadest possible spread of risk targeted (geographic diversification), so for example to guarantee the coverage of regional clusters of loss events that are caused by natural disasters, wars or political or economic instability.
Many large corporations have their own insurance companies (self- insurer, English " captives "). These have direct access to the reinsurance market and can reinsure part of their risk portfolio there.
History
Reinsurance shall be verified in the field of maritime transport insurance industry in the 14th century in Italy. After the discovery of the New World were Amsterdam and London important places of reinsurance. They were later applied to many other branches of insurance.
The Cologne Reinsurance Company was the first professional reinsurance. It was founded in 1846 and adopted in 1852 with completion of the first reinsurance contract, the business operations. This is followed by 1853, the Aachen Re 1857 Re Frankfurt, 1863 Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re) and 1880 Munich Reinsurance Company ( Munich Re today ).
Today they are not only caused by increasing concentration of values and insurance coverage ever larger compensation payments after natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes important. Largest-ever loss event may have been the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. The insured loss is currently estimated at about 34.4 billion U.S. dollars; plus the damage to the oil rigs off the coast come up with about 5 billion U.S. dollars ( for comparison: Before Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was with insured losses of about 21.5 billion U.S. dollars (converted to 2004 prices) the largest loss event caused by natural disasters). Of the total loss estimated to be approximately two-thirds to be borne by the reinsurers.
But disasters also caused by humans lead to ever-increasing amounts of loss. Since the WTC attacks, this event holds about 20 billion U.S. dollars in insured losses the record as kostspieligstes single event. The sum of the insured loss payments for diseases caused by asbestos exposure (including asbestosis ) achieved even though spread over many years, a multiple of this size ( the rating agency Standard & Poor's estimates that so far are known to damage amounting to 54 billion U.S. dollars and expects a total strain of up to 200 billion U.S. dollars).
Forms of contract
Generally, a distinction (on a case-by reinsurance) between obligatory reinsurance and facultative reinsurance. In the obligatory reinsurance entire portfolios of a primary insurer are reinsured, facultative reinsurance, however, deals with the higher coverage of a single specific risk.
A distinction is to be taken in reinsurance contracts between pro-rata proportional risk sharing ( proportional reinsurance ) in the premium and losses in equal proportions, and non-proportional risk sharing ( non-proportional reinsurance), in the remaining damage up to a certain amount of loss in excess of the insurer and beyond continuous part is taken over by a reinsurer.
Brokerage and direct reinsurance
Contracts are concluded directly by the assignor or through brokers. When business through brokers several reinsurers are often involved and each assumes a certain proportion of the risk insured.
Additional Services
- Consultation and involvement in property research
- Examination and assessment of special risks
- Introduction and support of rehabilitation measures in the primary insurance
- Advice and support in the portfolio design, underwriting and reinsurance design
- Advice and support in the area of Alternative Risk Transfer
- Training of employees of the assignor
- Advice on the use of computer equipment, development of expert systems
- Settlement clearing services
- Acquisition of actuarial tasks
- Advice and support in non- technical questions
- Provision of information and contacts to insurance markets
Reinsurance market
The world market in 2009 had a volume of around 157 billion U.S. dollars (English: large premiums written ), about 67 % of which is attributable to the damage -prone non- life reinsurance. The greatest demand for reinsurance came up with 47% from North America. From Europe, 38% were in demand, Asia and Australia asked 9 % of the world demand. The rest of the world wondered after just 6%.
Overall, an increasing concentration is observed. The ten largest reinsurers had in the years 2000-2006 already has a market share of over 40 %.
Reinsurance companies and brokers
Reinsurance undertaking
Reinsurance companies are among the largest insurance companies in general.
The ten largest reinsurance groups (2010 ) to net premiums written in billions of U.S. dollars
Reinsurance broker
The ten largest reinsurance broker in 2009 recorded a premium income of the equivalent of around 2.8 billion euros.
The largest reinsurance broker in the world after the takeover of Benfield on 28 November 2008, for Aon Corporation, Chicago, Aon Benfield associated companies.
Ranked by gross commission: