Product Description

Over recent years the insurance industry has faced a period of rapid change and consolidation, with recent natural and man-made disasters highlighting the problems that the industry faces. Yet this has also been a time of opportunity with the traditional role of insurance giving way to its classification as a asset class. This has resulted in insurance risks now being priced and exchanged on the markets.

In this book, the authors analyze the convergence between the insurance industry and the capital markets. They sumarize the main trends and issues and analyze past events within the industry. Thus, they demonstrate that the current market pressures on insurance companies do not not just create challenges but also new opportunities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #921833 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From the Inside Flap
Over recent years, there has been great upheaval in the insurance industry. High profile cases such as Lloyds of London and various natural disasters have left the insurance industry struggling. Despite this, however, the market pressures on insurance companies are providing an incentive to change. As the insurance companies act on this, new opportunities are created.

This book offers an in-depth look at the increasingly significant convergence between the insurance industry and the capital markets which has resulted in insurance being seen as an up and coming asset class. Demonstrating how the industry can learn from past mistakes, the authors examine the implications of the intertwining of finance and insurance, both for investment banks and brokerage firms as well as the insurance sector itself.

Written by experts in the field, the book is divided into seven chapters:

• The basics of property-casualty insurance
• Securitizing insurance risks
• Life insurance in the United States: history of a crisis
• ALM in insurance: an empirical wander around Europe
• Life insurance pricing and the measurement of the duration of liabilities
• A functional approach to the insurance industry
• Conclusion and future challenges

From the Back Cover
Over recent years the insurance industry has faced a period of rapid change and consolidation, with recent natural and man-made disasters highlighting the problems that the industry faces. Yet this has also been a time of opportunity with the traditional role of insurance giving way to its classification as a asset class. This has resulted in insurance risks now being priced and exchanged on the markets.

In this book, the authors analyze the convergence between the insurance industry and the capital markets. They sumarize the main trends and issues and analyze past events within the industry. Thus, they demonstrate that the current market pressures on insurance companies do not not just create challenges but also new opportunities.

About the Author
ERIC BRIYS is a managing director at Deutsche Bank where he heads the Insurance Strategies Group. He has worked previously for Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Prior to joining the investment banking world he was a Professor of Finance at the HEC School of Management. He has published seven books on finance and economics and more than thirty scientific articles.

FRANÇ OIS DE VARENNE is a vice-president at Deutsche Bank where he covers European insurance and reinsurance companies. He has worked previously for Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Prior to joining the investment banking world he was Head of Financial and Economics Affairs at the French Federation of Insurance Companies. An engineer, an actuary and a PhD in finance by training he has published three books and more than ten scientific articles.

Customer Reviews

Insightful!
In Insurance from Underwriting to Derivaties, Eric Briys and Francois de Varenne, both Deutsche Bank insurance experts, have written a highly technical, albeit readable, book for their professional peers. They discuss property-casualty insurance, risk, securitizing, pricing and liabilities duration in the United States and Europe. However, it will dawn on the casual reader fairly early that there should be an "experts only" label on the book jacket. Even the basic introduction to property-casualty insurance begins with the presentation of complex mathematical models. More daunting models, charts and graphs elucidate information throughout. Insiders will appreciate this data and the extensive footnotes and references. While this may not be a book for the mid-management reader, we assure you, without risk, that its target audience - financial executives and professionals in the insurance industry - will be very glad to have it.

Highly Recommended!
In Insurance from Underwriting to Derivaties, Eric Briys and Francois de Varenne, both Deutsche Bank insurance experts, have written a highly technical, albeit readable, book for their professional peers. They discuss property-casualty insurance, risk, securitizing, pricing and liabilities duration in the United States and Europe. However, it will dawn on the casual reader fairly early that there should be an "experts only" label on the book jacket. Even the basic introduction to property-casualty insurance begins with the presentation of complex mathematical models. More daunting models, charts and graphs elucidate information throughout. Insiders will appreciate this data and the extensive footnotes and references. While this may not be a book for the mid-management reader, we from getAbstract assure you, without risk, that its target audience - financial executives and professionals in the insurance industry - will be very glad to have it.

Insurance ALM and Derivatives
As a non insurance specialist, I was curious what the authors have to write about the convergence between the insurance industry and the capital markets. In particular the aspect of derivatives, since I'm in Equity Derivatives. The authors cover nicely the rapid change the insurance industry has faced the last couple of years. Show risk, opportunity, and support many arguments with mathematical models. Even though the authors have an outstanding academic record, the book is aktually fun reading (no boring academic book). References to other articles are extensive and the ALM Survival Toolkit in the Appendix is very well done. Here are the chapters:

1 The Basics of Property-Casualty Insurance
2 Securitizing Insurance Risks
3 Life Insurance in the United States: History of a crisis
4 ALM in Insurance: An Empirical Wander Around Europe
5 Life Insurance Pricing and the Measurement of the Duration and Liabilities
6 A Functional Approach to the Insurance Industry
7 Conclusion and Future Challenges
Appendix: The ALM Survival Toolkit

Mr Briys & Mr de Varenne have confirmend that the French are world-class in derivatives. Bravo!