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!

• 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
  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.
• Primary insurer
  cf. direct insurer: company which accepts risks in exchange for payment of an insurance premium and pays indemnification for the insured loss in the event of a claim. A direct insurer has a direct contractual relationship with the policyholder (private individual, company, organisation).
• 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.
• Probability level
  cf. confidence level: the confidence level defines the probability with which the defined amount of risk will not be exceeded.
• Property and casualty (re-)insurance
  collective term for the lines of business concerned with the insurance of property, including for example liability, fire, hail or marine 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.