Glossary

Our glossary explains technical terms from the areas finance and reinsurance. We hope it facilitates the understanding of our texts, publications and annual reports. If you have comments or suggestions, please use our feedback form!

• Deposit accounting
  an accounting method originating in US GAAP for the recognition of short-term and multi-year insurance and reinsurance contracts with no significant underwriting risk transfer. The standard includes inter alia provisions relating to the classification of corresponding contract types as well as the recognition and measurement of a deposit asset or liability upon inception of such contracts.
• Deposits with ceding companies/deposits received from retrocessionaires (also: funds held by ceding companies/funds held under reinsurance treaties)
  collateral provided to cover insurance liabilities that a (re-)insurer retains from the liquid funds which it is to pay to a reinsurer under a reinsurance treaty. In this case, the retaining company shows a deposit received, while the company furnishing the collateral shows a deposit with a ceding company.
• Derivatives, derivative financial instruments
  financial products derived from underlying primary instruments such as equities, fixed-income securities and foreign exchange instruments, the price of which is determined on the basis of an underlying security or other reference asset. Notable types of derivatives include swaps, options and futures.
• Direct (also: primary) insurer
  company which accepts risks in exchange for payment of an insurance premium and pays indemnification for the insured loss in the event of a claim. A direct insurer has a direct contractual relationship with the policyholder (private individual, company, organisation).
• Discounting of loss reserves
  determination of the present value of future profits through multiplication by the corresponding discount factor. In the case of the loss reserves this is necessary because of the new profit calculation methods for tax purposes applicable to German joint-stock corporations.
• Diversification
  orientation of business policy towards various revenue streams in order to mitigate the effects of e. g. economic fluctuations or natural catastrophes and thereby minimise the volatility of results. Diversification is an instrument of growth policy and risk policy for a company.
• Dynamic volatility adjustment
  long-term insurance guarantees can be dynamically adjusted due to potentially increased volatility in valuations on capital markets