Market-wide fluctuations in the prevailing level of insurance and reinsurance premiums. A soft market, i.e., a period of increased competition, depressed premiums, and excess capacity, is followed by a hard market – a period of rising premiums and decreased capacity.
Insurance coverage that protects against unforeseen or catastrophic losses. Medical stop-loss insurance is typically purchased by employers looking to reduce health benefit costs, maintain control over cash reserves, and offer comprehensive health coverage for employees. Under medical stop-loss policies, employers who have opted to self-insure their employee benefit plans do not assume 100 percent of the liability for losses that may arise from those plans. Liability is transferred to the insurance company for eligible losses that exceed certain limits called deductibles.
The least amount of premium to be charged for providing a particular insurance coverage. The minimum premium may apply in any number of ways such as per location, per type of coverage, or per policy.