ABSTRACT

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, functioning, management and legal background of the insurance industry. Written in accessible, non-technical style, Insurance Theory and Practice begins with an examination of the insurance concept, its guiding principles and legal rules before moving on to an analysis of the market, its players and their roles and relationships.

The model is the UK insurance market which is globally recognized and forms the basis of the insurance system in a range of countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean as well as Australia and Canada. The book covers the underlying ideas behind insurance transactions, together with the legal and financial principles that permit these concepts to function in the real world.

Key issues considered include:

  • the role of the constituent parts of the insurance market
  • the operation of both life and general insurers with special reference to the operation of the Lloyd’s market
  • the nature and function of reinsurers, brokers and loss adjusters
  • the influence of government, both in terms of market regulation and consumer protection
  • alternatives to the established private sector insurers, such as government schemes, Islamic insurance and alternative risk financing.

chapter |3 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|20 pages

Insurance as a risk transfer mechanism

chapter 2|40 pages

Fundamental legal principles of insurance

chapter 3|17 pages

The insurance contract

chapter 4|20 pages

Financial and accounting principles

chapter 6|28 pages

Lloyd’s of London

chapter 7|21 pages

Reinsurance

chapter 8|18 pages

Insurance intermediaries

chapter 9|10 pages

Claims handling

chapter 10|12 pages

Life assurance

chapter 11|16 pages

Pensions

chapter 12|24 pages

Policyholder and third party protection

chapter 13|21 pages

Alternative insurance systems

chapter 14|19 pages

The role of insurance in risk management