Glossary

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 feedback form!

• (Insurance) Pool
  a risk-sharing partnership under civil law formed by legally and economically independent insurers and reinsurers in order to create a broader underwriting base for particularly large or unbalanced risks. The members undertake to write certain risks only within the scope of the insurance pool. They include such risks – while maintaining their commercial independence – in the insurance pool against a commission fee. Each insurer participates in the profit or loss of the insurance pool according to its proportionate interest. Reinsurance is often ceded or accepted in order to further diversify the risk. Pools can be divided into two types: coinsurance pools, in which all members take the role of primary insurers according to their interests, and reinsurance pools, in which a primary insurer writes the risks and then spreads them among the participating insurers by way of reinsurance.
• Portfolio
  a) all risks assumed by an insurer or reinsurer in a defined sub-segment (e. g. line of business, country) or in their entirety; b) group of investments defined according to specific criteria.
• Premium
  agreed remuneration for the risks accepted from an insurance company. Unlike the earned premiums, the written premiums are not deferred.
• Present value of future profits (PVFP)
  intangible asset primarily arising from the purchase of life and health insurance companies or portfolios. The present value of expected future profits from the portfolio assumed is capitalised and amortised according to schedule.
• Price earnings ratio (PER)
  a valuation ratio of a company’s share price compared to its per-share earnings.
• Priority
  direct insurer’s loss amount stipulated under non-proportional reinsurance treaties; if this amount is exceeded, the reinsurer becomes liable to pay. The priority may refer to an individual loss, an accumulation loss or the total of all annual losses.
• Property and casualty (re-)insurance
  collective term for all lines of business which in the event of a claim reimburse only the incurred loss, not a fixed sum insured (as is the case in life and personal accident insurance, for example). This principle applies in all lines of property and casualty insurance.
• Proportional reinsurance
  reinsurance treaties on the basis of which shares in a risk or portfolio are reinsured under the relevant direct insurer’s conditions. Premiums and losses are shared proportionately on a pro-rata basis. This is in contrast to non-proportional reinsurance.
• Protection cover
  protection of segments of an insurer’s portfolio against major losses (per risk/per event), primarily on a non-proportional basis.
• Provision
  liability item as at the balance sheet date to discharge obligations which exist but whose extent and/or due date is/are not known. Technical provisions, for example, are for claims which have already occurred but which have not yet been settled, or have only been partially settled (= provision for outstanding claims, abbreviated to: claims provision).
• Provision for unearned premiums (also: unearned premium reserve)
  premiums written in a financial year which are to be allocated to the following period on an accrual basis. This item is used to defer written premiums.
• Purchase cost, amortised
  the cost of acquiring an asset item including all ancillary and incidental purchasing costs; in the case of wasting assets less scheduled and/or special amortisation.