Reinsurance and risk management method

The method manages risk of loss by providing an amount of indemnification, determining an amount of unrealized economic benefit, and reducing the amount of indemnification by the determined amount of unrealized economic benefit. As applied to reinsurance, the reinsurer indemnifies the insurer for a maximum amount relating to a risk of loss. The reinsurer identifies an amount of unrealized reinsurance and this amount reduces the maximum amount.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an insurer manages its risk of loss by obtaining indemnification wherein the limit of indemnification is offset by unrealized reinsurance. The typical insurance and reinsurance arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1 . The insurer/cedent 10 provides insurance policies for one or more entities or insureds 12 . The insured pays an insurance premium and the insurer indemnifies the insured for losses, if any, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the insurance policy. In turn, the insurer 10 obtains indemnification for some or all losses relating to one or more policies by purchasing reinsurance from one or more reinsurers 14 . The insurer pays a part of the premium(s) received from the insured(s) to the reinsurer and the reinsurer indemnifies the insurer for a specified amount referred to here as the limit. The reinsurance arrangement as well as the terms and conditions are memorialized in a reinsurance contract between the insurer and reinsurer. FIG. 1 , further illustrates one entity 16 , referred to here as the supplemental reinsurer, providing reinsurance separate from the underlying reinsurers 14 , and triggered typically after all other underlying reinsurance has been paid to the cedent. The supplemental reinsurer 16 provides reinsurance wherein the aggregate limit may be offset by certain unrealized reinsurance with respect to the underlying reinsurers 14 . The terms and conditions of the offset may be memorialized in the reinsurance contract or in a separate contract. The contract authorizes the supplemental reinsurer 16 to access the appropriate records in order to conduct an investigation for this purpose. The appropriate records include those involving agreements or transactions between the insurer 10 and the insured 12 as well as between the insurer 10 and the underlying reinsurers 14 . Once the unrealized reinsurance is identified, a recovery process may be initiated to realize or recover those entitlements or proceeds. FIG. 2 further illustrates the method involved in offsetting unrealized reinsurance or other economic benefit. At step 20 , the supplemental reinsurer indemnifies the insurer for losses up to a predetermined amount X, or aggregate limit. At step 22 , the supplemental reinsurer receives some consideration or premium from the insurer. Over the pertinent duration (based on the contract) the supplemental reinsurer is afforded access to and reviews the insurer's relevant records and the insurer reports relevant transactions to the supplemental reinsurer. Through record review, at step 24 , the supplemental reinsurer determines the economic benefit, e.g., unrealized reinsurance on policies or contracts between the insurer and the other one or more underlying reinsurers. At step 26 , the aggregate limit is reduced by the determined unrealized reinsurance. At step 28 , information regarding the determined unrealized reinsurance is provided or reported to the insurer/cedent. Optionally, at step 30 , the supplemental reinsurer proceeds to recover (or attempt to recover) the unrealized reinsurance. This step includes noticing or billing the appropriate underlying reinsurer and collecting the entitled reinsurance. This step may result in collecting some, all or no portion of the unrealized reinsurance. After recovery performed at step 30 , the supplemental reinsurer may distribute the recovery according to the appropriate contract terms. For determining unrealized reinsurance, the supplemental reinsurer reviews all the relevant reinsurance agreements and makes an assessment of the coverage. Relevancy may be determined by the terms of the contract. For example, the contract may specify that it applies to the policies that cover certain types of losses, or claims that are valued within a certain range, and all reinsurance relating to those policies. The insurance policies pertaining to the relevant reinsurance and the claims received by the insurer on those policies are also reviewed. A comparison of these records may result in the identification of unrealized reinsurance or other economic benefit. For example, a discrepancy between the insurer's losses and amount of reinsurance collected in connection with those losses may be unrealized reinsurance. Losses include paid and unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses on claims with respect to covered policies. The parties may agree to some definition as to which unrealized benefits qualify for the offset. For example, the contract may allow for any reinsurance or recoverable amount not previously identified by the insurer. Alternatively, the contract may restrict the unrealized reinsurance to those reinsurance and recoverable amounts that the insurer notices or bills to the appropriate reinsurer. In such arrangement, the insurer may be afforded the opportunity to validate the identified unrealized reinsurance. With reference to FIG. 2 , after step 24 of determining unrealized reinsurance, the supplemental reinsurer reports to the insurer the information pertaining to the identified unrealized reinsurance. The insurer may then verify or validate some, all or no part of such unrealized reinsurance. The validated unrealized reinsurance is then applied at step 26 to reduce the aggregate limit. These reports may include proof suitable for providing to the appropriate underlying reinsurer for purposes of billing and collection. In effect, the preferred embodiment of the present invention combines loss control methodologies directed toward unrealized reinsurance or other economic benefit and a risk management contract. In this embodiment, the reinsurance contract reduces, through risk transfer, the risk associated with sub-optimal utilization of purchased, ceded reinsurance. Furthermore, the management of unrealized reinsurance risk is integrated into the cedent's overall reinsurance program. Another effect is the more appropriate matching of the economic benefits and the economic costs of reinsurance. This method additionally provides an efficient mechanism for cedents to gauge and incorporate in their own product pricing algorithms the cost of unrealized reinsurance. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the indemnified loss is defined with respect to the insurance policies and reinsurance contacts. FIG. 3 illustrate exemplary scenarios of this embodiment using a graph wherein the horizontal axis represent time and the vertical axis represents economic value. In this embodiment, the indemnification applies to losses covered by policies issued by the insurer after an inception date and prior to an Effective Date 42 . Retention 44 is the amount of the insurer's current net outstanding losses as of the Effective Date. Retention represents a net amount in that it reflects the reinsurance benefit the insurer has recorded on its books as of the Effective Date. The Ultimate Net Loss 46 is the actual loss paid or to be paid on the insurer's net retained liability (i.e., Retention). The Ultimate Net Loss is measured at a date subsequent to the Effective Date. The Aggregate Limit 48 is an amount of indemnification agreed to by the supplemental reinsurer and the insurer. The Aggregate Limit represents the maximum potential payout amount by the supplemental reinsurer to the insurer. The supplemental reinsurer indemnifies the insurer for the amount of Ultimate Net Losses that exceeds the Retention up to the Aggregate Limit. The Offset 50 is the amount of qualifying unrealized reinsurance identified by the supplemental reinsurer. The Offset is indicated with an arrow pointing down from the Aggregate Limit to represent a reduction of the amount of Aggregate Limit in the amount of the Offset. The graphs in FIG. 3 show that the maximum payout by the supplemental reinsurer to the insurer is a function both of the Ultimate Net Loss and the Offset. In the simplest case, graph A, the Offset 50 is equal to the Aggregate Limit 48 , therefore the payout amount is reduced to zero regardless of the Ultimate Net Loss ( 46 or 46 ′). In exemplary graph B, the difference between the Ultimate Net Loss and the Retention is greater than the Aggregate Limit 48 , therefore the maximum payout is equal to the Aggregate Limit, except for the Offset which reduces the required payout to the resulting amount 52 . In exemplary graph C, the difference between the Ultimate Net Loss and the Retention is less than the Aggregate Limit, therefore the maximum payout is equal to the difference between the Ultimate Net Loss and the Retention, except for the Offset, which reduces the required payout to the resulting amount 52 . In exemplary graph D, there is no offset, so the maximum payout is equal to the difference between the Ultimate Net Loss and the Retention up to the Aggregate Limit. Such contractual arrangement, as described with reference to FIG. 3 , is called an excess of loss contract of indemnification. However the present invention is applicable to other reinsurance contracts or other financial instruments involving indemnification and a risk management service, the financial flows of which are indeterminate with respect to amount and time. The cedent/reinsured pays a premium for the reinsurance as well as the loss control methodologies for determining unrealized reinsurance. The premium may be determined based on the indemnified loss and/or aggregate limit. Recoveries of unrealized reinsurance may obligate the cedent/reinsured to pay the reinsurer additional consideration (e.g., additional premiums and/or profit share) under such an excess of loss reinsurance contract. For example, the contract may require an initial premium payable by the insured to the reinsurer for the reinsurance provided by the reinsurance contract. Additional consideration may be payable by the insured to the reinsurer according to a graduated scale based on the amount of unrealized reinsurance actually collected by the insured. The amount of unrealized reinsurance is preferably a cumulative amount. The graduated additional consideration scale may be mutually agreed upon between the insured and the reinsurer. For example, a graduated premium scale may have three tiers and the premium would be the sum of the products. Aside from unrealized reinsurance, there are other unrealized economic benefits conducive to such loss control methodology arrangements. Examples include premium audit services, direct claims review services, subrogation review services, and direct policy deductible review services. A premium audit examines an insurer's records in order to make sure the insurance company is receiving all the premiums it is owed. Direct claims are losses applicable towards an insured's policy. A direct claims review examines the claims made on an insurance company in order to determine whether the losses reported were appropriate. Subrogation is the compensation an insurer is owed by another insurance company when the insurer awards money on a claim for which it is not directly or indirectly liable (e.g., on a car accident in which another driver is at fault). A subrogation review insures that an insurer is receiving all the subrogation it is owed. A deductible is the dollar amount above which an insurance policy covers a loss. A direct claim deductible review insures that an insurer has not been reimbursing clients on claims below the deductible. It is understood from the disclosure provided herein that other embodiments are also contemplated by and with the scope of the invention. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to any particular type of insurance coverage or loss control methodology, but is applicable to any type of insurance for which reinsurance may be provided and to any type of loss control methodology. While the novel features of the present invention as applied to the preferred embodiment thereof have been shown and described, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all the statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.