CPRM key terms
CPRM · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.
- Exposure
A person, asset, activity or financial interest subject to a possible loss, which must be identified before treatment alternatives are compared.
- Loss frequency
The number or rate of loss events over a defined exposure and period, distinct from the size of each loss.
- Loss severity
The monetary or other defined magnitude of an event’s consequences, requiring a consistent unit and scope when observations are compared.
- Risk retention
Keeping specified financial consequences within the organization or household rather than transferring those consequences through an external contract.
- Risk transfer
Allocation of specified financial consequences to another party under an arrangement, with residual contractual and counterparty risks potentially remaining.
- Deductible
An amount of covered loss retained by the policyholder under the contract’s stated calculation, which must not be assumed identical across products.
- Policy limit
A contractual upper boundary on specified payments or coverage, applied using the actual wording, aggregation period and relevant sublimits.
- Exclusion
Contract wording removing a specified circumstance or cause from coverage, subject to the actual policy and applicable legal interpretation.
- Endorsement
A contractual amendment that can alter a policy’s terms, so coverage analysis must read it together with the relevant base wording.
- Underwriting
Evaluation of a proposed exposure and the terms on which protection may be offered, using appropriate information and applicable constraints.
- Premium
The contractual amount charged for defined insurance protection, distinct from a guaranteed investment return or the amount payable for every loss.
- Claim
A request for a benefit or payment arising from an alleged insured event, requiring examination of coverage and supporting evidence.
- Indemnity
A principle relating some insurance payments to a covered financial loss, whose operation and exceptions depend on product and law.
- Subrogation
A concept concerning an insurer’s pursuit of certain recovery rights after payment, dependent on the actual contract and applicable law.
- Reinsurance
A separate arrangement transferring specified insurer exposure to another insurer, without automatically releasing the original policyholder obligation.
- Proportional reinsurance
An arrangement allocating specified premiums and losses in agreed proportions, with the contract defining the exact scope and calculation.
- Excess-of-loss layer
A specified loss interval above an attachment amount and subject to a limit, rather than automatic cover of every consequence.
- Earned premium
The premium amount attributed to expired coverage under a specified accounting model, distinct from the entire premium written or cash received.
- Claims reserve
An estimate of obligations associated with claims under a defined measurement framework, rather than necessarily an equivalent dedicated cash asset.
- Combined ratio
A measure combining defined loss and expense ratios to analyze underwriting, whose components and denominators must be checked before calculation.