When an insurance company insures itself it is called as reinsurance, where by it shares the risk of loss with another company. Insurance companies need reinsurance, when they face the danger of having to pay a multitude of claims at the same time and hence have no option but to face bankruptcy, where as if they have reinsured they are protected to a certain extent. Event like the September 11 attack of the twin towers have caused the closure of several small reinsurance agencies, hence the significance of reinsurance for an insurance company is tremendous.

Types of Reinsurance:

There are two kinds of reinsurances, treaty reinsurance and facultative reinsurance. Treaty Reinsurance: This kind of reinsurance requires that the reinsurer will assume part or all of a ceding company’s responsibility for certain sections or classes of business in accordance with the terms of the policy. It is an obligatory contract as the ceding company has to cede the business and the reinsurer is obliged to assume the business as per the treaty. It is the preferred type of reinsurance when groups of homogenous risks are considered.

Facultative Reinsurance: This kind of reinsurance is used while considering a particular underlying risk of an individual contract. It is the reinsurance of all or part of a single policy after the terms and conditions have been negotiated. It reduces the ceding company’s exposure to risk from an individual policy. It is non- obligatory.

In another way, reinsurance is classified as proportional and non-proportional reinsurances. Proportional Reinsurances: The two companies share the premium as well as risk. The reinsurer usually pays a ceding commission.

Pro-Rata Reinsurance: It is a classification based on the way the two companies share the risk. The cedent and the reinsurer share a pre decided percentage of the premium and losses. It is used widely as it provides surplus protection. There are two types of pro-rata reinsurance, quota share and surplus share.

Quota Share Pro-Rata Reinsurance: The primary insurer cedes a fixed percentage of premiums and loses for every risk accepted.

Surplus Share Pro-Rata Reinsurance: It is different in that not every risk is ceded but only those that exceed certain predetermined amounts.

Non-Proportional Reinsurance: As the name suggests it is not proportional and the reinsurer only responds if the loss suffered by the insurer exceeds a certain amount.

Excess of Loss: It covers a single risk or a certain type of business. Catastrophe reinsurance is a type of excess of loss reinsurance. It provides the captive with a great deal of flexibility. Stop Loss Reinsurance: It covers the whole account and is also known as excessive loss ratio reinsurance.

These are the various types of reinsurances. There are firms that offer their services as well as their products to help new business start up flourish and succeed.