Fair valuation of insurance liabilities via mean-variance hedging in a multi-period setting

A general class of fair valuations which are both market-consistent (mark-to-market for any hedgeable part of a claim) and actuarial (mark-to-model for any claim that is independent of financial market evolutions) was introduced in Dhaene et al. [Insurance: Mathematics & Economics, 76, 14–27 (2017)] in a single period framework. In particular, the authors considered mean-variance hedge-based (MVHB) valuations where fair valuations of insurance liabilities are expressed in terms of mean-variance hedges and actuarial valuations. In this paper, we generalize this MVHB approach to a multi-period dynamic investment setting. We show that the classes of fair valuations and MVHB valuations are equivalent in this generalized setting. We derive tractable formulas for the fair valuation of equity-linked contracts and show how the actuarial part of their MVHB valuation decomposes into a diversifiable and a non-diversifiable component.     

我国分红险收益分布研究

寿险公司分红保险具有最低保障利率,并能使投保人分享保险公司的经营成果,但很多购买分红保险的投保人对其收益分布并不了解。本文利用随机模拟方法给出我国分红险的收益分布。结果表明分红合约在风险与收益的平衡方面有较好性质。如果保险人的投资组合的波动率较高,分红合约的收益相对资产组合有显著的下方保护作用。由于实际中寿险投资组合波动率并不很高,如果市场风险溢价较高,选择直接投资到资产组合会以较大概率获得比分红合约更高的收益。     

On accounting standards and fair valuation of life insurance and pension liabilities

The actuarial profession is increasingly teaming up with financial economists for a fruitful cooperation on the proper valuation of life insurance and pension (L&P) liabilities. This has been a natural consequence of a recent sharply increased focus on market values in financial reports of L&P companies from regulators, standard setters, the financial press, stakeholders, and others with an interest in the L&P business.

This article provides a financial economist's point of view on recent developments in relation to the fair valuation of L&P liabilities. The role of accounting standards and the background for the international harmonization in this field are first discussed. We then review and explain the concept of fair value and provide a general view on appropriate techniques for estimating fair values of L&P liabilities in accordance with the definition of the concept. The paper also contains a section which briefly reviews recent and quite innovative regulatory initiatives in relation to market value reporting in the Danish market for life and pension insurance.     

The role of life insurance in an emerging economy: Human capital protection,assets allocation and social interaction

In this paper, we provide micro-econometric evidence on the determinants of life insurance demand in China, the largest emerging market in the world. We employ the China Household Income Project (CHIP) dataset for the year 2002 in the analysis. The timing is ideal, because of the nature of the less well developed capital markets and social security systems in China in 2002, which sets a suitable stage to study the insurance demand behavior of emerging markets. The results indicate that both the human capital protection motive and the asset allocation motive are important in explaining the purchase of life insurance in China. In addition, we present three empirical regularities: (1) the positive correlation between the returns to human capital and the returns to market portfolio decrease the demand for life insurance; (2) both the current wealth and future income of a household exert curvilinear impacts on life insurance demand; (3) the breadth of a households social connections has substantial impacts on life insurance demand.     

上海自贸区离岸(再)保险市场发展的必要性及建议

离岸再保险市场是国际再保险市场的重要组成部分。上海自贸区发展离岸再保险市场,不但可以扩大再保险业务,而且有利于与国际再保险市场接轨,实现把上海建设成为国际再保险中心的战略目标。本文分别从国家和企业层面探讨了上海自贸区发展离岸再保险市场的必要性,并提出了相关建议。