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97-693: The Qatar Stock Exchange is the principal stock market of Qatar . QSE is a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges and was recently upgraded by the MSCI and the S&;P Dow Jones Indices . Established in 1995, the Doha Securities Market (DSM) officially started operations in 1997. Since then, the exchange has grown to become one of the leading stock markets in the GCC region. In June 2009, Qatar Holding,
194-663: A Nerva–Antonine dynasty -era tablet from the ruins of the Temple of Antinous in Antinoöpolis , Aegyptus . The tablet prescribed the rules and membership dues of a burial society collegium established in Lanuvium , Italia in approximately 133 AD during the reign of Hadrian (117–138) of the Roman Empire . In 1851 AD, future U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph P. Bradley (1870–1892 AD), once employed as an actuary for
291-577: A sea captain , ship-manager , or ship charterer that saved a ship from total loss was only required to pay one-half the value of the ship to the ship-owner . In the Digesta seu Pandectae (533), the second volume of the codification of laws ordered by Justinian I (527–565), a legal opinion written by the Roman jurist Paulus in 235 AD was included about the Lex Rhodia ("Rhodian law"). It articulates
388-453: A claim arises on the occurrence of a specified event). There are generally three types of insurance contracts that seek to indemnify an insured: From an insured's standpoint, the result is usually the same: the insurer pays the loss and claims expenses. If the Insured has a "reimbursement" policy, the insured can be required to pay for a loss and then be "reimbursed" by the insurance carrier for
485-448: A claim. Adjusting liability-insurance claims is particularly difficult because they involve a third party, the plaintiff , who is under no contractual obligation to cooperate with the insurer and may in fact regard the insurer as a deep pocket . The adjuster must obtain legal counsel for the insured—either inside ("house") counsel or outside ("panel") counsel, monitor litigation that may take years to complete, and appear in person or over
582-601: A combined ratio over 100% may nevertheless remain profitable due to investment earnings. Insurance companies earn investment profits on "float". Float, or available reserve, is the amount of money on hand at any given moment that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest or other income on them until claims are paid out. The Association of British Insurers (grouping together 400 insurance companies and 94% of UK insurance services) has almost 20% of
679-455: A company insures an individual entity, there are basic legal requirements and regulations. Several commonly cited legal principles of insurance include: To "indemnify" means to make whole again, or to be reinstated to the position that one was in, to the extent possible, prior to the happening of a specified event or peril. Accordingly, life insurance is generally not considered to be indemnity insurance, but rather "contingent" insurance (i.e.,
776-541: A company stock's current earnings. Intellectual capital contributes to a stock's return growth. The efficient-market hypothesis (EMH) is a hypothesis in financial economics that states that asset prices reflect all available information at the current time. The 'hard' efficient-market hypothesis does not explain the cause of events such as the crash in 1987 , when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 22.6 percent—the largest-ever one-day fall in
873-431: A country as "socialist" or not. At that time, I wasn't sure that any definite criterion existed to make that sort of clear-cut judgment. And so I was pleasantly surprised at the clarity and decisiveness of Mises's answer. "A stock market," he answered promptly. "A stock market is crucial to the existence of capitalism and private property . For it means that there is a functioning market in the exchange of private titles to
970-410: A fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management , primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. An entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer , insurance company , insurance carrier , or underwriter . A person or entity who buys insurance is known as a policyholder , while
1067-564: A function of fixed costs associated with investing. Her research concludes that a fixed cost of $ 200 per year is sufficient to explain why nearly half of all U.S. households do not participate in the market. Participation rates have been shown to strongly correlate with education levels, promoting the hypothesis that information and transaction costs of market participation are better absorbed by more educated households. Behavioral economists Harrison Hong, Jeffrey Kubik and Jeremy Stein suggest that sociability and participation rates of communities have
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#17328770432471164-473: A guarantor of settlement. These and other stocks may also be traded " over the counter " (OTC), that is, through a dealer. Some large companies will have their stock listed on more than one exchange in different countries, so as to attract international investors. Stock exchanges may also cover other types of securities, such as fixed-interest securities (bonds) or (less frequently) derivatives, which are more likely to be traded OTC. Trade in stock markets means
1261-413: A minimum, the following elements: identification of participating parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be " indemnified " against the loss covered in
1358-453: A more active role in loss mitigation, such as through building codes . According to the study books of The Chartered Insurance Institute, there are variant methods of insurance as follows: Insurers may use the subscription business model , collecting premium payments periodically in return for on-going and/or compounding benefits offered to policyholders. Insurers' business model aims to collect more in premium and investment income than
1455-510: A mutual fund or an exchange traded fund. Direct investment involves direct ownership of shares. Direct ownership of stock by individuals rose slightly from 17.8% in 1992 to 17.9% in 2007, with the median value of these holdings rising from $ 14,778 to $ 17,000. Indirect participation in the form of retirement accounts rose from 39.3% in 1992 to 52.6% in 2007, with the median value of these accounts more than doubling from $ 22,000 to $ 45,000 in that time. Rydqvist, Spizman, and Strebulaev attribute
1552-454: A pattern in what is, in fact, just noise , e.g. seeing familiar shapes in clouds or ink blots. In the present context, this means that a succession of good news items about a company may lead investors to overreact positively, driving the price up. A period of good returns also boosts the investors' self-confidence, reducing their (psychological) risk threshold. Another phenomenon—also from psychology—that works against an objective assessment
1649-458: A person or entity covered under the policy is called an insured . The insurance transaction involves the policyholder assuming a guaranteed, known, and relatively small loss in the form of a payment to the insurer (a premium) in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate the insured in the event of a covered loss. The loss may or may not be financial, but it must be reducible to financial terms. Furthermore, it usually involves something in which
1746-622: A premium paid independently of loans began in Belgium about 1300 AD. Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. The first known insurance contract dates from Genoa in 1347. In the next century, maritime insurance developed widely, and premiums were varied with risks. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment,
1843-697: A relatively few claimants – and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (called reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit . Policies typically include a number of exclusions, for example: Insurers may prohibit certain activities which are considered dangerous and therefore excluded from coverage. One system for classifying activities according to whether they are authorised by insurers refers to "green light" approved activities and events, "yellow light" activities and events which require insurer consultation and/or waivers of liability, and "red light" activities and events which are prohibited and outside
1940-539: A separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance . The earliest known policy of life insurance was made in the Royal Exchange, London , on 18 June 1583, for £383, 6s. 8d. for twelve months on the life of William Gibbons. Insurance became far more sophisticated in Enlightenment-era Europe , where specialized varieties developed. Property insurance as we know it today can be traced to
2037-399: A staff of records management and data entry clerks . Incoming claims are classified based on severity and are assigned to adjusters, whose settlement authority varies with their knowledge and experience. An adjuster undertakes an investigation of each claim, usually in close cooperation with the insured, determines if coverage is available under the terms of the insurance contract (and if so,
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#17328770432472134-498: A statistically significant impact on an individual's decision to participate in the market. Their research indicates that social individuals living in states with higher than average participation rates are 5% more likely to participate than individuals that do not share those characteristics. This phenomenon also explained in cost terms. Knowledge of market functioning diffuses through communities and consequently lowers transaction costs associated with investing. In 12th-century France,
2231-411: A stock exchange trader . Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry . This method is used in some stock exchanges and commodities exchanges , and involves traders shouting bid and offer prices. The other type of stock exchange has a network of computers where trades are made electronically. An example of such an exchange
2328-486: A study of the fifty largest one-day share price movements in the United States in the post-war period seems to confirm this. A 'soft' EMH has emerged which does not require that prices remain at or near equilibrium, but only that market participants cannot systematically profit from any momentary ' market anomaly '. Moreover, while EMH predicts that all price movement (in the absence of change in fundamental information)
2425-624: A tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as in the 1840s. In the 1880s Chancellor Otto von Bismarck introduced old age pensions, accident insurance and medical care that formed the basis for Germany's welfare state . In Britain more extensive legislation was introduced by the Liberal government in the National Insurance Act 1911 . This gave the British working classes
2522-572: A univariate analysis could produce confounded results. Other statistical methods may be used in assessing the probability of future losses. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. Underwriting performance is measured by something called the "combined ratio", which is the ratio of expenses/losses to premiums. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while anything over 100 indicates an underwriting loss. A company with
2619-417: A venue for capital raising for Qatari companies as part of their corporate strategy and giving investors a platform through which they can trade a variety of products in a transparent and efficient manner. The Qatar Stock Exchange also provides the public with access to market information and ensures correct disclosure of information. Stock market A stock market , equity market , or share market
2716-402: Is group thinking . As social animals, it is not easy to stick to an opinion that differs markedly from that of a majority of the group. An example with which one may be familiar is the reluctance to enter a restaurant that is empty; people generally prefer to have their opinion validated by those of others in the group. In one paper the authors draw an analogy with gambling . In normal times
2813-579: Is bank-based or market-based. Events such as the 2007–2008 financial crisis have prompted a heightened degree of scrutiny of the impact of the structure of stock markets (called market microstructure ), in particular to the stability of the financial system and the transmission of systemic risk . A transformation is the move to electronic trading to replace human trading of listed securities . Changes in stock prices are mostly caused by external factors such as socioeconomic conditions, inflation, exchange rates. Intellectual capital does not affect
2910-409: Is paid out in losses, and to also offer a competitive price which consumers will accept. Profit can be reduced to a simple equation: Insurers make money in two ways: The most complicated aspect of insuring is the actuarial science of ratemaking (price-setting) of policies, which uses statistics and probability to approximate the rate of future claims based on a given risk. After producing rates,
3007-464: Is random (i.e. non-trending) , many studies have shown a marked tendency for the stock market to trend over time periods of weeks or longer. Various explanations for such large and apparently non-random price movements have been promulgated. For instance, some research has shown that changes in estimated risk, and the use of certain strategies, such as stop-loss limits and value at risk limits, theoretically could cause financial markets to overreact. But
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3104-478: Is similar to the New York Stock Exchange. One or more NASDAQ market makers will always provide a bid and ask the price at which they will always purchase or sell 'their' stock. The Paris Bourse , now part of Euronext , is an order-driven, electronic stock exchange. It was automated in the late 1980s. Prior to the 1980s, it consisted of an open outcry exchange. Stockbrokers met on the trading floor of
3201-511: Is the NASDAQ . A potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock, and a potential seller asks a specific price for the same stock. Buying or selling at the Market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock. When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place, on a first-come, first-served basis if there are multiple bidders at a given price. The purpose of a stock exchange
3298-547: Is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities listed on a public stock exchange as well as stock that is only traded privately, such as shares of private companies that are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms. Investments are usually made with an investment strategy in mind. The total market capitalization of all publicly traded stocks worldwide rose from US$ 2.5 trillion in 1980 to US$ 111 trillion by
3395-426: Is the materialized utility of insurance; it is the actual "product" paid for. Claims may be filed by insureds directly with the insurer or through brokers or agents . The insurer may require that the claim be filed on its own proprietary forms, or may accept claims on a standard industry form, such as those produced by ACORD . Insurance-company claims departments employ a large number of claims adjusters, supported by
3492-405: Is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace . The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery . The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a physical exchange, with a hybrid market for placing orders electronically from any location as well as on the trading floor . Orders executed on
3589-641: The Black Monday of 1987 , the Dot-com bubble of 2000, and the Stock Market Crash of 2008. One of the most famous stock market crashes started October 24, 1929, on Black Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50% during this stock market crash. It was the beginning of the Great Depression . Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for
3686-657: The Great Fire of London , which in 1666 devoured more than 13,000 houses. The devastating effects of the fire converted the development of insurance "from a matter of convenience into one of urgency, a change of opinion reflected in Sir Christopher Wren 's inclusion of a site for "the Insurance Office" in his new plan for London in 1667." A number of attempted fire insurance schemes came to nothing, but in 1681, economist Nicholas Barbon and eleven associates established
3783-712: The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company , submitted an article to the Journal of the Institute of Actuaries . His article detailed an historical account of a Severan dynasty -era life table compiled by the Roman jurist Ulpian in approximately 220 AD that was also included in the Digesta . Concepts of insurance has been also found in 3rd century BC Hindu scriptures such as Dharmasastra , Arthashastra and Manusmriti . The ancient Greeks had marine loans. Money
3880-545: The Netherlands . Even in the days before perestroika , socialism was never a monolith. Within the Communist countries , the spectrum of socialism ranged from the quasi-market , quasi- syndicalist system of Yugoslavia to the centralized totalitarianism of neighboring Albania . One time I asked Professor von Mises , the great expert on the economics of socialism, at what point on this spectrum of statism would he designate
3977-409: The counterparty could default on the transaction. The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates economic growth in that lower costs and enterprise risks promote the production of goods and services as well as possibly employment. In this way the financial system is assumed to contribute to increased prosperity, although some controversy exists as to whether the optimal financial system
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4074-600: The general average principle of marine insurance established on the island of Rhodes in approximately 1000 to 800 BC, plausibly by the Phoenicians during the proposed Dorian invasion and emergence of the purported Sea Peoples during the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1100–c. 750). The law of general average is the fundamental principle that underlies all insurance. In 1816, an archeological excavation in Minya, Egypt produced
4171-425: The income distribution have lessened their participation rate both directly and indirectly from 53.2% in 2007 to 48.8% in 2013, while over the same period households in the top decile of the income distribution slightly increased participation 91.7% to 92.1%. The mean value of direct and indirect holdings at the bottom half of the income distribution moved slightly downward from $ 53,800 in 2007 to $ 53,600 in 2013. In
4268-476: The means of production . There can be no genuine private ownership of capital without a stock market: there can be no true socialism if such a market is allowed to exist." The stock market is one of the most important ways for companies to raise money, along with debt markets which are generally more imposing but do not trade publicly. This allows businesses to be publicly traded, and raise additional financial capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of
4365-553: The "Brugse Beurse", institutionalizing what had been, until then, an informal meeting. The idea quickly spread around Flanders and neighboring countries and "Beurzen" soon opened in Ghent and Rotterdam . International traders, and specially the Italian bankers, present in Bruges since the early 13th-century, took back the word in their countries to define the place for stock market exchange: first
4462-464: The DMM may use their own resources (money or stock) to close the difference. Once a trade has been made, the details are reported on the "tape" and sent back to the brokerage firm, which then notifies the investor who placed the order. Computers play an important role, especially for program trading . The NASDAQ is an electronic exchange, where all of the trading is done over a computer network . The process
4559-674: The Italians (Borsa), but soon also the French (Bourse), the Germans (börse), Russians (birža), Czechs (burza), Swedes (börs), Danes and Norwegians (børs). In most languages, the word coincides with that for money bag, dating back to the Latin bursa, from which obviously also derives the name of the Van der Beurse family. In the middle of the 13th century , Venetian bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351
4656-557: The Low Countries followed in the 16th century. Around this time, a joint stock company —one whose stock is owned jointly by the shareholders—emerged and became important for the colonization of what Europeans called the " New World ". There are now stock markets in virtually every developed and most developing economies, with the world's largest markets being in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, India , China, Canada , Germany ( Frankfurt Stock Exchange ), France, South Korea and
4753-555: The Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the CATS trading system was introduced, and the order matching system was fully automated. People trading stock will prefer to trade on the most popular exchange since this gives the largest number of potential counter parties (buyers for a seller, sellers for a buyer) and probably the best price. However, there have always been alternatives such as brokers trying to bring parties together to trade outside
4850-445: The United States of America (about 59.9%), followed by Japan (about 6.2%) and United Kingdom (about 3.9%). A stock exchange is an exchange (or bourse) where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell shares (equity stock ), bonds , and other securities . Many large companies have their stocks listed on a stock exchange. This makes the stock more liquid and thus more attractive to many investors. The exchange may also act as
4947-507: The United States. This event demonstrated that share prices can fall dramatically even though no generally agreed upon definite cause has been found: a thorough search failed to detect any 'reasonable' development that might have accounted for the crash. (Such events are predicted to occur strictly by randomness , although very rarely.) It seems also to be true more generally that many price movements (beyond those which are predicted to occur 'randomly') are not occasioned by new information;
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#17328770432475044-571: The Venetian government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. Bankers in Pisa , Verona , Genoa and Florence also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city-states not ruled by a duke but a council of influential citizens. Italian companies were also the first to issue shares. Companies in England and
5141-485: The best explanation seems to be that the distribution of stock market prices is non-Gaussian (in which case EMH, in any of its current forms, would not be strictly applicable). Other research has shown that psychological factors may result in exaggerated (statistically anomalous) stock price movements (contrary to EMH which assumes such behaviors 'cancel out'). Psychological research has demonstrated that people are predisposed to 'seeing' patterns, and often will perceive
5238-484: The company in a public market. The liquidity that an exchange affords the investors enables their holders to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as property and other immoveable assets. History has shown that the price of stocks and other assets is an important part of the dynamics of economic activity, and can influence or be an indicator of social mood. An economy where
5335-408: The control and behavior of the stock market and, in general, on the smooth operation of financial system functions. Financial stability is the raison d'être of central banks. Exchanges also act as the clearinghouse for each transaction, meaning that they collect and deliver the shares, and guarantee payment to the seller of a security. This eliminates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that
5432-445: The courtiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. Because these men also traded with debts, they could be called the first brokers . The Italian historian Lodovico Guicciardini described how, in late 13th-century Bruges , commodity traders gathered outdoors at a market square containing an inn owned by a family called Van der Beurze , and in 1409 they became
5529-446: The demand for marine insurance . In the late 1680s, Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house , which became the meeting place for parties in the shipping industry wishing to insure cargoes and ships, including those willing to underwrite such ventures. These informal beginnings led to the establishment of the insurance market Lloyd's of London and several related shipping and insurance businesses. Life insurance policies were taken out in
5626-406: The differential growth in direct and indirect holdings to differences in the way each are taxed in the United States. Investments in pension funds and 401ks, the two most common vehicles of indirect participation, are taxed only when funds are withdrawn from the accounts. Conversely, the money used to directly purchase stock is subject to taxation as are any dividends or capital gains they generate for
5723-774: The early 18th century. The first company to offer life insurance was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office , founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot and Sir Thomas Allen . Upon the same principle, Edward Rowe Mores established the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. It was the world's first mutual insurer and it pioneered age based premiums based on mortality rate laying "the framework for scientific insurance practice and development" and "the basis of modern life assurance upon which all life assurance schemes were subsequently based." In
5820-1218: The economy through transferring available funds from units that have excess funds (savings) to those who are suffering from funds deficit (borrowings) (Padhi and Naik, 2012). In other words, capital markets facilitate funds movement between the above-mentioned units. This process leads to the enhancement of available financial resources which in turn affects the economic growth positively. Economic and financial theories argue that stock prices are affected by macroeconomic trends. Macroeconomic trends include such as changes in GDP, unemployment rates, national income, price indices, output, consumption, unemployment, inflation, saving, investment, energy, international trade, immigration, productivity, aging populations, innovations, international finance. increasing corporate profit, increasing profit margins, higher concentration of business, lower company income, less vigorous activity, less progress, lower investment rates, lower productivity growth, less employee share of corporate revenues, decreasing Worker to Beneficiary ratio (year 1960 5:1, year 2009 3:1, year 2030 2.2:1), increasing female to male ratio college graduates. Sometimes,
5917-534: The end of 2023. As of 2016 , there are 60 stock exchanges in the world. Of these, there are 16 exchanges with a market capitalization of $ 1 trillion or more, and they account for 87% of global market capitalization. Apart from the Australian Securities Exchange , these 16 exchanges are all in North America , Europe , or Asia . By country, the largest stock markets as of January 2022 are in
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#17328770432476014-671: The event of general average. In 1873 the "Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations", the forerunner of the International Law Association (ILA), was founded in Brussels. It published the first YAR in 1890, before switching to the present title of the "International Law Association" in 1895. By the late 19th century governments began to initiate national insurance programs against sickness and old age. Germany built on
6111-850: The exchange. Some third markets that were popular are Instinet , and later Island and Archipelago (the latter two have since been acquired by Nasdaq and NYSE, respectively). One advantage is that this avoids the commissions of the exchange. However, it also has problems such as adverse selection . Financial regulators have probed dark pools . Market participants include individual retail investors, institutional investors (e.g., pension funds , insurance companies , mutual funds , index funds , exchange-traded funds , hedge funds , investor groups, banks and various other financial institutions ), and also publicly traded corporations trading in their own shares. Robo-advisors , which automate investment for individuals are also major participants. Indirect investment involves owning shares indirectly, such as via
6208-673: The first contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment. This system was greatly expanded after the Second World War under the influence of the Beveridge Report , to form the first modern welfare state . In 2008, the International Network of Insurance Associations (INIA), then an informal network, became active and it has been succeeded by the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA), which
6305-465: The first fire insurance company, the "Insurance Office for Houses", at the back of the Royal Exchange to insure brick and frame homes. Initially, 5,000 homes were insured by his Insurance Office. At the same time, the first insurance schemes for the underwriting of business ventures became available. By the end of the seventeenth century, London's growth as a centre for trade was increasing due to
6402-419: The float method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards, so a poor economy generally means high insurance-premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the underwriting, or insurance, cycle . Claims and loss handling
6499-463: The form of retirement accounts of 89.6%. The median value of directly owned stock in the bottom quintile of income is $ 4,000 and is $ 78,600 in the top decile of income as of 2007. The median value of indirectly held stock in the form of retirement accounts for the same two groups in the same year is $ 6,300 and $ 214,800 respectively. Since the Great Recession of 2008 households in the bottom half of
6596-436: The holder. In this way, the current tax code incentivizes individuals to invest indirectly. Rates of participation and the value of holdings differ significantly across strata of income. In the bottom quintile of income, 5.5% of households directly own stock and 10.7% hold stocks indirectly in the form of retirement accounts. The top decile of income has a direct participation rate of 47.5% and an indirect participation rate in
6693-447: The insurance carrier can generally either "reimburse" or "pay on behalf of", whichever is more beneficial to it and the insured in the claim handling process. An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the "insured" party once risk is assumed by an "insurer", the insuring party, by means of a contract , called an insurance policy . Generally, an insurance contract includes, at
6790-774: The insurance company. Insurance scholars have typically used moral hazard to refer to the increased loss due to unintentional carelessness and insurance fraud to refer to increased risk due to intentional carelessness or indifference. Insurers attempt to address carelessness through inspections, policy provisions requiring certain types of maintenance, and possible discounts for loss mitigation efforts. While in theory insurers could encourage investment in loss reduction, some commentators have argued that in practice insurers had historically not aggressively pursued loss control measures—particularly to prevent disaster losses such as hurricanes—because of concerns over rate reductions and legal battles. However, since about 1996 insurers have begun to take
6887-529: The insurance policy is called the premium . If the insured experiences a loss which is potentially covered by the insurance policy, the insured submits a claim to the insurer for processing by a claims adjuster. A mandatory out-of-pocket expense required by an insurance policy before an insurer will pay a claim is called a deductible (or if required by a health insurance policy, a copayment ). The insurer may hedge its own risk by taking out reinsurance , whereby another insurance company agrees to carry some of
6984-413: The insured has an insurable interest established by ownership, possession, or pre-existing relationship. The insured receives a contract , called the insurance policy , which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insurer will compensate the insured, or their designated beneficiary or assignee. The amount of money charged by the insurer to the policyholder for the coverage set forth in
7081-409: The insurer will use discretion to reject or accept risks through the underwriting process. At the most basic level, initial rate-making involves looking at the frequency and severity of insured perils and the expected average payout resulting from these perils. Thereafter an insurance company will collect historical loss-data, bring the loss data to present value , and compare these prior losses to
7178-526: The investments in the London Stock Exchange . In 2007, U.S. industry profits from float totaled $ 58 billion. In a 2009 letter to investors, Warren Buffett wrote, "we were paid $ 2.8 billion to hold our float in 2008". In the United States , the underwriting loss of property and casualty insurance companies was $ 142.3 billion in the five years ending 2003. But overall profit for the same period
7275-543: The late 19th century "accident insurance" began to become available. The first company to offer accident insurance was the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, formed in 1848 in England to insure against the rising number of fatalities on the nascent railway system. The first international insurance rule was the York Antwerp Rules (YAR) for the distribution of costs between ship and cargo in
7372-443: The loss and out of pocket costs including, with the permission of the insurer, claim expenses. Under a "pay on behalf" policy, the insurance carrier would defend and pay a claim on behalf of the insured who would not be out of pocket for anything. Most modern liability insurance is written on the basis of "pay on behalf" language, which enables the insurance carrier to manage and control the claim. Under an "indemnification" policy,
7469-491: The loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale. An increasing number of people are involved in the stock market, especially since the social security and retirement plans are being increasingly privatized and linked to stocks and bonds and other elements of the market. There have been a number of famous stock market crashes like the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , the stock market crash of 1973–4 ,
7566-612: The losses that only some insureds may incur. The insured entities are therefore protected from risk for a fee, with the fee being dependent upon the frequency and severity of the event occurring. In order to be an insurable risk , the risk insured against must meet certain characteristics. Insurance as a financial intermediary is a commercial enterprise and a major part of the financial services industry, but individual entities can also self-insure through saving money for possible future losses. Risk which can be insured by private companies typically share seven common characteristics: When
7663-462: The market behaves like a game of roulette ; the probabilities are known and largely independent of the investment decisions of the different players. In times of market stress, however, the game becomes more like poker (herding behavior takes over). The players now must give heavy weight to the psychology of other investors and how they are likely to react psychologically. Stock markets play an essential role in growing industries that ultimately affect
7760-476: The market seems to react irrationally to economic or financial news, even if that news is likely to have no real effect on the fundamental value of securities itself. However, this market behaviour may be more apparent than real, since often such news was anticipated, and a counter reaction may occur if the news is better (or worse) than expected. Therefore, the stock market may be swayed in either direction by press releases, rumors, euphoria and mass panic . Over
7857-465: The national averages with 25.6% participating directly and 53.4% participating indirectly through a retirement account. 14.7% of households headed by men participated in the market directly and 33.4% owned stock through a retirement account. 12.6% of female-headed households directly owned stock and 28.7% owned stock indirectly. In a 2003 paper by Vissing-Jørgensen attempts to explain disproportionate rates of participation along wealth and income groups as
7954-469: The national rate of direct participation was 19.6%, for white households the participation rate was 24.5%, for black households it was 6.4% and for Hispanic households it was 4.3%. Indirect participation in the form of 401k ownership shows a similar pattern with a national participation rate of 42.1%, a rate of 46.4% for white households, 31.7% for black households, and 25.8% for Hispanic households. Households headed by married couples participated at rates above
8051-414: The policy. When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a claim against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the premium. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims – in theory for
8148-406: The premium collected in order to assess rate adequacy. Loss ratios and expense loads are also used. Rating for different risk characteristics involves—at the most basic level—comparing the losses with "loss relativities"—a policy with twice as many losses would, therefore, be charged twice as much. More complex multivariate analyses are sometimes used when multiple characteristics are involved and
8245-404: The reasonable monetary value of the claim), and authorizes payment. Policyholders may hire their own public adjusters to negotiate settlements with the insurance company on their behalf. For policies that are complicated, where claims may be complex, the insured may take out a separate insurance-policy add-on, called loss-recovery insurance, which covers the cost of a public adjuster in the case of
8342-473: The risks, especially if the primary insurer deems the risk too large for it to carry. Methods for transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Indian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively. Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel capsizing. Codex Hammurabi Law 238 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated that
8439-456: The scope of insurance cover. Insurance can have various effects on society through the way that it changes who bears the cost of losses and damage. On one hand it can increase fraud; on the other it can help societies and individuals prepare for catastrophes and mitigate the effects of catastrophes on both households and societies. Insurance can influence the probability of losses through moral hazard , insurance fraud , and preventive steps by
8536-556: The short-term, stocks and other securities can be battered or bought by any number of fast market-changing events, making the stock market behavior difficult to predict. Emotions can drive prices up and down, people are generally not as rational as they think, and the reasons for buying and selling are generally accepted. Behaviorists argue that investors often behave irrationally when making investment decisions thereby incorrectly pricing securities, which causes market inefficiencies, which, in turn, are opportunities to make money. However,
8633-420: The stock market is on the rise is considered to be an up-and-coming economy. The stock market is often considered the primary indicator of a country's economic strength and development. Rising share prices, for instance, tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa. Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption. Therefore, central banks tend to keep an eye on
8730-535: The strategic and direct investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and NYSE Euronext , the world's leading exchange group, signed an agreement to form a major strategic partnership to establish the Exchange as a world-class financial market. The DSM was renamed the Qatar Stock Exchange on the conclusion of the deal. The primary aim of the Qatar Stock Exchange is to support Qatar's economy by providing
8827-422: The top decile, mean value of all holdings fell from $ 982,000 to $ 969,300 in the same time. The mean value of all stock holdings across the entire income distribution is valued at $ 269,900 as of 2013. The racial composition of stock market ownership shows households headed by whites are nearly four and six times as likely to directly own stocks than households headed by blacks and Hispanics respectively. As of 2011
8924-492: The trading floor enter by way of exchange members and flow down to a floor broker , who submits the order electronically to the floor trading post for the Designated market maker ("DMM") for that stock to trade the order. The DMM's job is to maintain a two-sided market, making orders to buy and sell the security when there are no other buyers or sellers. If a bid–ask spread exists, no trade immediately takes place – in this case,
9021-507: The transfer (in exchange for money) of a stock or security from a seller to a buyer. This requires these two parties to agree on a price. Equities (stocks or shares) confer an ownership interest in a particular company. Participants in the stock market range from small individual stock investors to larger investors, who can be based anywhere in the world, and may include banks , insurance companies, pension funds and hedge funds . Their buy or sell orders may be executed on their behalf by
9118-527: The whole notion of EMH is that these non-rational reactions to information cancel out, leaving the prices of stocks rationally determined. A stock market crash is often defined as a sharp dip in share prices of stocks listed on the stock exchanges. In parallel with various economic factors, a reason for stock market crashes is also due to panic and investing public's loss of confidence. Often, stock market crashes end speculative economic bubbles . There have been famous stock market crashes that have ended in
9215-452: Was $ 68.4 billion, as the result of float. Some insurance-industry insiders, most notably Hank Greenberg , do not believe that it is possible to sustain a profit from float forever without an underwriting profit as well, but this opinion is not universally held. Reliance on float for profit has led some industry experts to call insurance companies "investment companies that raise the money for their investments by selling insurance". Naturally,
9312-485: Was advanced on a ship or cargo, to be repaid with large interest if the voyage prospers. However, the money would not be repaid at all if the ship were lost, thus making the rate of interest high enough to pay for not only for the use of the capital but also for the risk of losing it (fully described by Demosthenes ). Loans of this character have ever since been common in maritime lands under the name of bottomry and respondentia bonds. The direct insurance of sea-risks for
9409-492: Was formally founded in 2012 to aim to increase insurance industry effectiveness in providing input to international regulatory bodies and to contribute more effectively to the international dialogue on issues of common interest. It consists of its 40 member associations and 1 observer association in 67 countries, which companies account for around 89% of total insurance premiums worldwide. Insurance involves pooling funds from many insured entities (known as exposures) to pay for
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