Can you imagine that someone was pending to restore the trust you put in your children every time it was lost due to a prank? So, in much the same way, is how reinsurance works. An entity called a reinsurer assumes part of the risk that each insurer signs in its contracts.
In this way, the possible contingencies that may cause a loss or problem to eye med insurance – its negative effects – are distributed among several entities, causing that no one and nothing is exposed in a single way to the dangers that the insured may generate.
The figure of reinsurance not only provides trust and support to insurers, but its existence is also vital for the insured person. If reinsurance did not exist, if that guarantee on which tranquility is based for both parties, these would be much more expensive and difficult for the client to assume. That is, the higher the reinsurance, the insurer will be able to cover higher volume risks.
Read on to learn more about what reinsurance is and understand the difference between insurance and reinsurance.
Because it is not the same to attend to care.
reinsurance concept
Going back to the idea that we have just introduced to explain the concept of reinsurance, you should know that ultimately reinsurance is an insurance contract through which an insurance company (which constitutes the ceding company ) becomes insured by another entity, which assumes the role of the reinsurer. This contract makes it possible to distribute the risks and limit the responsibilities in the event of an accident. We can say that it is the insurance of the insurance. With this contract, you can cover all or only part of the risk.
In short, through reinsurance, an insurance company protects its assets from the possible debt that it could contract when making its obligations effective, thus avoiding solvency problems.
If we go further and look for the definition of reinsurance in the Insurance Contract Law, in Art. 77 Law 50/80, the following is stated:
“ Through the reinsurance contract, the reinsurer undertakes to repair, within the limits established in the Law and in the contract, the debt that arises in the patrimony of the reinsured as a result of the latter’s obligations, assumed as an insurer in a reinsurance contract. sure .”
Reinsurance consists of the protection contracted by one insurer with another, by transferring all or part of the risks.
How does it work
The reinsurance contract does not affect the person who has signed the policy. The insured must demand the total compensation from his insurance company. On the contrary, the insured may not demand said benefit from the reinsurer. In this way, the insured remains outside the agreement signed between the ceding company and the reinsurer.
Advantages of reinsurance
At this point in the article, you may already be wondering whether or not there are advantages to reinsurance. With reinsurance we all have advantages. The reinsurers themselves win by finding a market and business niche, the insurers win by being able to offer more attractive and safe products with more advantageous conditions, and the insured win because their insurance has a better impact on the broader and richer clauses that protect them and to a lesser extent on your pocket.
Our unforeseen events are covered by the insurance companies that can deal with major contingencies as long as they rely on the cushion offered by the reinsurer, which means that they do not assume the risks alone.
It is a formula perhaps more unknown here in Spain than in other territories where it is very common and a well-known tool. Reinsurance has been working perfectly for many years in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France.
types of reinsurance
We distinguish different types of reinsurance based on two major reinsurance classification criteria.
Types of reinsurance according to the obligation
Reinsurance can be of various types depending on its obligation:
- Mandatory: when the risks assumed are established in a contract
- Optional: when there is no reinsurance contract and the risks are communicated individually.
- Mandatory-optional: when the contract is mixed, that is, optional for one of the parties (reinsured) and mandatory for the other (reinsurer),
Types of reinsurance according to risk
Different types of reinsurance can also be classified depending on their content, based on risk:
- Quota-part: when the reinsurer participates in a fixed percentage of all the risks established in the contract.
- Surplus: When this percentage of participation is variable according to the risk
- Excess of loss: when the reinsurer participates in those claims that exceed a pre-established amount or excess of claims when a maximum percentage of total claims is set.
How reinsurance, rights, and obligations are legislated
The General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds is the body that regulates reinsurance activity in Spain.
In the first place, it defines it as “By the reinsurance contract, the reinsurer undertakes to repair, within the limits established in the Law and in the contract, the debt that arises in the patrimony of the reinsured as a result of the obligation assumed by the latter as insurer. in an insurance contract.
It also marks the benefits for the insured and their rights: “The internal reinsurance agreement, made between the direct insurer and other insurers, will not affect the insured, who may, in any case, demand the entire compensation from the said insurer, without prejudice to the right of repetition that corresponds to it against reinsurers, by virtue of the internal agreement”.
But also their obligations insofar as they cannot demand compensation or benefit directly from the company with which they have been reinsured, and how they are protected in the event of liquidation (voluntary or forced) of the reinsured, over which “they will enjoy special privilege over the credit balance shown by the insurer’s account with the reinsurer”. In short, an internal contract between insurers, by which risks are reduced without undermining the rights and benefits of the insured.
reinsurance example
As we have seen, the reinsurance contract will allow insurers to assume greater risks regardless of their capital. The cases in which the risk to be insured is high are very different, but we bring you an example of reinsurance that is very easy to understand. We can find an elite athlete or someone who performs high-risk activities on a regular basis in the coverage. Without a doubt, this is a clear example of why it is interesting to distribute risks through reinsurance.
By allowing other insurers to take over part of the claims, they can offer much higher value policies or policies that are considered high risk.
We hope that this article has helped you understand what insurance reinsurance is. Now we invite you not to lose track of our Blog, which we update daily with new content related to insurance but also to health, lifestyle, savings, etc. We will wait for you!
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