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Business and Economics > Insurance

You are looking at 1 - 4 of 4 items for :

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Cover IMF Working Papers
Natural Disaster Insurance for Sovereigns: Issues, Challenges and Optimality
Aliona Cebotari
and
Karim Youssef
Natural disasters are a source of economic risks in many countries, especially in smaller and lower-income states, and ex-ante preparedness is needed to manage the risks. The paper discusses sovereign experience with disaster insurance as a key instrument to mitigate the risks; proposes ways to judge the adequacy of insurance; and considers ways to enhance its use by vulnerable countries. The paper especially aims to inform policy decisions on disaster insurance. Through simulations of natural disasters and various insurance options, we find that sovereign decisions on optimal risk transfer involve balancing trade-offs between growth and debt, based on government risk preferences and country risk exposure. The choice of optimal insurance for smaller countries turns out to be more constrained by cost considerations due to their higher exposure, likely resulting in underinsurance; donor grants could help them achieve a more optimal protection. We also find that optimal insurance packages are those that are least costly relative to expected payouts (i.e. have the lowest insurance multiple), which are also the packages that insure less severe (more frequent) disasters.
Keywords:
WP; insurance coverage; insurance premium; insurance package; utility function; catastrophe risk insurance program; agency GSIS; options country; Insurance; Natural disasters; Insurance companies; Options; Disaster aid; Caribbean; natural disaster insurance; debt growth tradeoffs; optimal insurance for sovereigns
Cover Departmental Papers
The Global Financial Crisis and Adjustment to Shocks in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda: A Balance Sheet Analysis Perspective
Ms. Iyabo Masha
This paper analyzes the impact of the global financial crisis on the banking systems in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and their responses to it, using information from banking system balance sheets. The paper undertakes two distinct analyses. In the first analysis, the focus is on the trend in intersectoral balances and positions in the long run, using annual data for 2001–08. The second analysis uses monthly data for December 2007–May 2009 to determine how intersectoral balance sheets adjusted in the short run to sudden changes in the economic environment during the recent global financial crisis.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; foreign currency; share; securities; loan; currency; accounts receivable; net po; Intersectoral asset; net foreign currency position; foreign currency position; positions of Kenya; forex liability; Kenyan shilling; Currencies; Financial derivatives; Loans; Foreign currency exposure; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Insurance Value of International Reserves: An Option Pricing Approach
Mr. Jaewoo Lee
A quantitative framework is developed to bring forward the insurance motive of holding international reserves. The insurance value of reserves is quantified as the market price of an equivalent option that provides the same insurance coverage as the reserves. This quantitative framework is applied to calculating the cost of a regional insurance arrangement (e.g., an Asian Monetary Fund) and to analyzing one leg of an optimal reserve-holding decision.
Keywords:
WP; coverage ratio; put option; option price; interest rate; Reserves; insurance; option; underlying asset; insurance value; reserve coverage ratio rise; market value; coverage ratio decrease; reserve holding; Asset valuation; Asset prices; International reserves; Options; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Pricing An Interest Payment Guarantee: A Contribution to Debt Reduction Techniques
International Monetary Fund
This paper describes an approach for computing the market value of an interest guarantee on a bond where the principal is fully collateralized and which is exchanged for discounted sovereign debts. The cost of the insurance is determined on the basis of a simple option pricing model according to the theory of contingent claims. This method offers the advantage over previously proposed approaches by drawing a distinction between different classes of creditors that may wish to select different levels of insurance protection, recognizing thereby the leverage opportunities that arise from the existence of differing views on the credit risk of the sovereign borrower and different operational environments of the creditors.
Keywords:
WP; price; put; bond; strike price; bond investor; price of the bond; call-put parity condition; bond issuer; cost of the insurance; Bonds; Asset prices; Options; Insurance; Securities; Global