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Fair valuation of insurance contracts under Lévy process specifications

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  • Kassberger, Stefan
  • Kiesel, Rüdiger
  • Liebmann, Thomas

Abstract

The valuation of options embedded in insurance contracts using concepts from financial mathematics (in particular, from option pricing theory), typically referred to as fair valuation, has recently attracted considerable interest in academia as well as among practitioners. The aim of this article is to investigate the valuation of participating and unit-linked life insurance contracts, which are characterized by embedded rate guarantees and bonus distribution rules. In contrast to the existing literature, our approach models the dynamics of the reference portfolio by means of an exponential Lévy process. Our analysis sheds light on the impact of the dynamics of the reference portfolio on the fair contract value for several popular types of insurance policies. Moreover, it helps to assess the potential risk arising from misspecification of the stochastic process driving the reference portfolio.

Suggested Citation

  • Kassberger, Stefan & Kiesel, Rüdiger & Liebmann, Thomas, 2008. "Fair valuation of insurance contracts under Lévy process specifications," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 419-433, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:insuma:v:42:y:2008:i:1:p:419-433
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Markus Hess, 2018. "Cliquet option pricing in a jump-diffusion L\'{e}vy model," Papers 1810.09670, arXiv.org.
    3. Julien Chevallier & Benoît Sévi, 2014. "On the Stochastic Properties of Carbon Futures Prices," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 58(1), pages 127-153, May.
    4. Abdou Kélani & François Quittard-Pinon, 2017. "Pricing and Hedging Variable Annuities in a Lévy Market: A Risk Management Perspective," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 84(1), pages 209-238, March.
    5. Julien Chevallier & Stéphane Goutte, 2014. "The goodness-of-fit of the fuel-switching price using the mean-reverting Lévy jump process," Working Papers 2014-285, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    6. Günther, Sascha & Hieber, Peter, 2024. "Analyzing the interest rate risk of equity-indexed annuities via scenario matrices," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 15-28.
    7. Laura Ballotta, 2009. "Pricing and capital requirements for with profit contracts: modelling considerations," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(7), pages 803-817.
    8. Julien Chevallier & Stéphane Goutte, 2017. "Estimation of Lévy-driven Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes: application to modeling of $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ CO 2 and fuel-switching," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 255(1), pages 169-197, August.
    9. Hieber, Peter, 2017. "Cliquet-style return guarantees in a regime switching Lévy model," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 138-147.
    10. Olivier Le Courtois & François Quittard-Pinon, 2008. "Fair Valuation of Participating Life Insurance Contracts with Jump Risk," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 33(2), pages 106-136, December.
    11. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Huang, Wei-Ling & Yin, Chun-Hao, 2013. "The dynamic interactions among the stock, bond and insurance markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 28-52.

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