Odomirok 14 Flashcards

1
Q

List 2 things that the actuary can refer to when opining on the collectability of reinsurance recoverables:

A
  1. indications of regulatory actions or reinsurance recoverable over 90 days overdue
  2. listing of reinsurers / liability amounts ceded to each reinsurer/ the collateral held by the insurer
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2
Q

Main purpose of Schedule F:

A

Derive the provision for reinsurance, which is a minimum reserve for the uncollectible reinsurance.

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3
Q

How is the Provision for Reinsurance treated in the Annual Statement

A

Liability (in the balance sheet)

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4
Q

How does a change in the Provision impact surplus:

A

An increase in the provision results in a direct decrease to surplus.

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5
Q

What should the insurer do if it believes that it is necessary to book a higher amount than what is being indicated by the Provision formula:

A

It should hold an additional reserve. It should record this additional amount on the Income Statement by reversing the accounts that had been used to establish the reinsurance recoverable.

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6
Q

List the 8 parts of Schedule F:

A
  1. Assumed Reinsurance
  2. Portfolio Reinsurance
  3. Ceded Reinsurance
  4. Aging of Ceded Reinsurance
  5. Unauthorized Reinsurance
  6. Overdue Authorized Reinsurance
  7. Slowpaying Authorized Reinsurance
  8. Restatement of Balance Sheet
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7
Q

List the components of the Balance Sheet that are populated from Schedule F data:

A
  • Assets: Amounts recoverable from reinsurers
  • Liabilities: Reinsurance payable on paid losses & LAE/Funds held by the company under reinsurance agreements/Provision for reinsurance
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8
Q

How are reinsureds grouped in Part 1:

A
  • Affiliated insurers: US Intercompany Pooling/ US Non Pool/Other (Non US)
  • Other US Unaffiliated insurers
  • Pools & Associations: Mandatory Pools/ Voluntary Pools
  • Other Non-US Insurers
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9
Q

List the benefits of the “Funds held or deposited with reinsured companies” form of collateral:

A
  • reduces credit risk
  • reduces administrative burden of having to continually collect money from reinsurer to make payments
  • reinsurer gets paid interest
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10
Q

Why do reinsureds like the Letters of Credit (LOC) form of collateral:

A

It is not part of the estate of the insolvent reinsurer, and therefore will not be tied up/ subject to degradation in the event of a bankruptcy

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11
Q

2 reasons that LOCs are expensive to the reinsurer:

A
  1. banks charge a fee, which will be higher during uncertain economic times
  2. the LOC is a reduction to reinsurers line of credit
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12
Q

3 reasons that insurers may enter into Portfolio Reinsurance arrangements:

A

They want to:

  1. Exit a certain type of business
  2. Remove the risk/ uncertainty associated with the liability off their books
  3. Obtain surplus relief (via the discounted premium)
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13
Q

Transactions that are exempt from disclosure in Part 3 (whether the contract cedes 75% or more of the Direct Premium Written):

A

• Intercompany cessions with affiliates

• Cessions to a pool/ group/ association/ organization of insurers that underwrite jointly, which:
– is subject to examination by any state regulatory authority, or
– operates pursuant to any state or federal statutory or administrative authorization (such as Workers Compensation, or auto assigned risk pool)

  • Those where under 5% of the gross annual premium is ceded
  • Cessions to captive insurers that are regulated in their domiciliary state
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14
Q

Rules to determine the due date of the reinsurance recoverables (to populate Part 4):

A

Use the following hierarchy:

  1. Terms of the reinsurance contract that specify when the reinsurer needs to pay, if specified; or
  2. Terms of the reinsurance contract that specify when the insurer needs to report the claim to the reinsurer, if specified;
    or
  3. The date at which the amount recoverable from a certain reinsurer exceeds $50K, and is entered into the insurers account as a paid recoverable
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15
Q

When determining the age of reinsurance recoverables, what should be done if no dates have been mentioned, or if the recoverable is under $50K:

A

Record the amount as “currently due”

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16
Q

Formula for Provision for Reinsurance for Unauthorized Reinsurer:

A

Provision= Unsecured total recoverables
+ 20% (recoverables over 90 days overdue)
+ 20%(amounts in dispute).

17
Q

Formula for Provision for Reinsurance for Authorized Slow Paying Reinsurer:

A

Provision= max [ 20% (unsecured total recoverables),

20% (recoverables over 90 days overdue) ]

18
Q

Formula for Provision for Reinsurance for Authorized Non Slow Paying Reinsurer:

A

Provision = 20% (recoverables over 90 days overdue)

19
Q

2 assets that need to be adjusted in Part 8:

A
  1. Reinsurance recoverable on loss & LAE payment (line 3)
  2. Net amounts recoverable from reinsurers (line 6)
20
Q

Liabilities that need to be adjusted to 0 in Part 8:

A
  • Ceded reinsurance premiums payable (Line 14)
  • Funds held by the company under reinsurance treaties (Line 15)
  • Provision for Reinsurance (Line 17)
21
Q

Liabilities that need to be adjusted to values other than 0 in Part 8:

A
  • Losses & LAE (Line 9)

* Unearned Premiums (Line 11)

22
Q

2 Changes that the NAIC made to Schedule F in 2012:

A
  1. it added a new Part 6, and

2. it shifted the original Parts 6-8 to 7-9 respectively

23
Q

Items that regulators consider when determining whether to certify a reinsurer:

A
  • Jurisdiction
  • Financial Position
  • Capital & Surplus
  • Regulatory History
  • Financial Strength Ratings
24
Q

What do the 2 sections of the “new” Part 6 contain:

A
  • Section 1: Provision for Reinsurance for certified reinsurers due to collateral deficiency
  • Section 2: Provision for Overdue Reinsurance ceded to certified reinsurers
25
Q

List some functions of Schedule F (in addition to assessing the net reserves):

A
  • Identifies the portion of the gross losses that are from assumed reinsurance transactions
  • Helps estimate the significance of the assumed and ceded transactions to the surplus balance
  • Allows further investigation into the financial strength of the insurers and reinsurers
  • Identifies reinsurers that may need further scrutiny because they are either slow paying or not regulated
26
Q

List some criticisms of Schedule F:

A
  • The Provision is formulaic, and therefore ignores management input
  • The formula has no statistical, historical or actuarial basis. It may therefore underestimate the credit risk
  • Unauthorized reinsurance may provide higher quality protection and/ or lower prices
  • Slow payers that are financially strong may eventually pay, whereas a reinsurer that is current may not be able to withstand a stress event
  • The multitude of calculations and level of detail may lead to a false level of precision
  • The costs of collateral requirements will be passed from the reinsurers to insurers, ultimately increasing the costs to consumers
  • The Provision may limit the amount of competition in the US, due to the penalty associated with unauthorized European reinsurers
  • Schedule F does not reveal anything about the reinsurers solvency