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The Pricing of U.S. Catastrophe Reinsurance

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Author Info
Kenneth A. Froot
Paul G. J. O'Connell

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Abstract

We explore two theories that have been advanced to explain the patterns in U.S. catastrophe reinsurance pricing. The first is that price variation is tied to demand shocks, driven in effect by changes in actuarially expected losses. The second holds that the supply of capital to the reinsurance industry is less than perfectly elastic, with the consequence that prices are bid up whenever existing funds are depleted by catastrophe losses. Using detailed reinsurance contract data from Guy Carpenter & Co. over a 25-year period, we test these two theories. Our results suggest that capital market imperfections are more important than shifts in actuarial valuation for understanding catastrophe reinsurance pricing. Supply, rather than demand, shifts seem to explain most features of the market in the aftermath of a loss.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 6043.

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Date of creation: May 1997
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:6043

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  1. Froot, Kenneth A. & Stein, Jeremy C., 1998. "Risk management, capital budgeting, and capital structure policy for financial institutions: an integrated approach," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 55-82, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Anne Gron, 1994. "Capacity Constraints and Cycles in Property-Casualty Insurance Markets," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(1), pages 110-127, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Anne Gron & Deborah Lucas, 1995. "External Financing and Insurance Cycles," NBER Working Papers 5229, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
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  1. David Hofman & Patricia Brukoff, 2006. "Insuring Public Finances Against Natural Disasters--A Survey of Options and Recent Initiatives," IMF Working Papers 06/199, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  2. Walter Kraemer & Sebastian Schich, 2008. "Large-Scale Disasters and the Insurance Industry," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Darrell Duffie & Bruno Strulovici, 2009. "Capital Mobility and Asset Pricing," Discussion Papers 1478, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science. [Downloadable!]
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