Posts Tagged ‘loss’
Investment Portfolios
Investment Portfolios
Since investors like to increase their expected wealth and like to avoid risk or uncertainty, it is possible to imagine different combinations of expected gain and risk which are valued equally by an investor. That is, an investor will be willing to assume greater risk, if he achieves greater expected wealth.
The individual investor is now conceptually prepared to select the optimum portfolio from those constituting the efficient set. The optimum portfolio (i.e., the one which maximizes expected utility) is the one at the point of tangency between the efficient frontier and an indifference curve. In images it can be seen that the investor can do no better than choose the portfolio at point A on the efficient frontier, since no other portfolio is on as high an indifference. Another escape is to say that concavity does not necessarily imply that the relationship is quadratic and that other equations can preserve the concavity without ever implying a maximum value from which utility will decline as wealth increases.
The difficulty with these other curves is that efficiency in terms of the mean and variance of a portfolio does not necessarily imply maximization of expected utility. Markowitz has shown, however, that many utility functions can be reasonably approximated by the quadratic.
A different line of criticism has been advanced by Arditti and others. They argue that investors may be interested in characteristics of distributions of rates of return additional to the mean and variance. In particular, they argue that skewness may be of importance. That is, if the rates of return on the portfolios have the same mean and variance, but different skewness, investors may prefer the distribution which is more skewed to the right. One is not excused from reaching tentative conclusions simply because the theoretical development of a field is still rudimentary.
A conclusion which is consistent with much that has been observed in the real world and which is satisfying theoretically is the one with which we started: namely, that portfolios which are efficient in terms of their means and variances necessarily maximize expected utility which can be represented by a quadratic equation. Markowitz, perhaps, does the best job of showing that his efficient portfolios are very close to optimum or come very close to maximizing expected utility, even if things other than the mean and variance of the distributions of returns make a difference to or affect the expected utility of inves tors. Even if the investor is concerned about the magnitude of the expected loss, the maximum expected loss, the probability of a loss, or other attributes of the distribution, the portfolios selected according to those criteria will be very similar to portfolios selected according to their means and variances.
Investment Portfolios
Investment Portfolios
Since investors like to increase their expected wealth and like to avoid risk or uncertainty, it is possible to imagine different combinations of expected gain and risk which are valued equally by an investor. That is, an investor will be willing to assume greater risk, if he achieves greater expected wealth.
The individual investor is now conceptually prepared to select the optimum portfolio from those constituting the efficient set. The optimum portfolio (i.e., the one which maximizes expected utility) is the one at the point of tangency between the efficient frontier and an indifference curve. In images it can be seen that the investor can do no better than choose the portfolio at point A on the efficient frontier, since no other portfolio is on as high an indifference. Another escape is to say that concavity does not necessarily imply that the relationship is quadratic and that other equations can preserve the concavity without ever implying a maximum value from which utility will decline as wealth increases.
The difficulty with these other curves is that efficiency in terms of the mean and variance of a portfolio does not necessarily imply maximization of expected utility. Markowitz has shown, however, that many utility functions can be reasonably approximated by the quadratic.
A different line of criticism has been advanced by Arditti and others. They argue that investors may be interested in characteristics of distributions of rates of return additional to the mean and variance. In particular, they argue that skewness may be of importance. That is, if the rates of return on the portfolios have the same mean and variance, but different skewness, investors may prefer the distribution which is more skewed to the right. One is not excused from reaching tentative conclusions simply because the theoretical development of a field is still rudimentary.
A conclusion which is consistent with much that has been observed in the real world and which is satisfying theoretically is the one with which we started: namely, that portfolios which are efficient in terms of their means and variances necessarily maximize expected utility which can be represented by a quadratic equation. Markowitz, perhaps, does the best job of showing that his efficient portfolios are very close to optimum or come very close to maximizing expected utility, even if things other than the mean and variance of the distributions of returns make a difference to or affect the expected utility of inves tors. Even if the investor is concerned about the magnitude of the expected loss, the maximum expected loss, the probability of a loss, or other attributes of the distribution, the portfolios selected according to those criteria will be very similar to portfolios selected according to their means and variances.
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Pet Insurance
Whether you want to protect yourself from the financial loss that could result from the death of your prize-winning racehorse, or you simply want to make your golden retriever’s veterinary bills more affordable, you may want to look into purchasing some form of pet insurance. For the most part, pet insurance refers to two types of insurance: mortality insurance and health insurance. These two types of pet insurance may be sold as separate components or together.
Pet mortality insurance
Most of us own animals purely for companionship. However, if you own an animal that has financial value to you (a racehorse), is rare (an exotic animal), or is specially trained (a guide dog for the blind), you may want to consider purchasing pet mortality insurance.
Pet mortality insurance is similar to life insurance for humans. You (the owner) would take out a mortality insurance policy in an amount equal to the value of your pet’s life.
(For example, if you purchased an exotic bird for $ 5,000, you would insure the bird for that amount.) When your pet dies, you would collect on the policy.
The cost of pet mortality insurance is usually calculated as a percentage of the value of the animal. So, when you purchase a policy, you’ll need to show documentation (e.g., breeding records) that substantiates the value of your animal.
Pet health insurance
When an animal is seriously injured or has a life-threatening illness, pet owners are often forced to choose between paying high veterinary bills and euthanasia. Even routine veterinary care (e.g., vaccinations and physicals) can add up, especially if you have more than one pet.
As a result, an increasing number of pet owners are purchasing pet health insurance to help pay for the cost of veterinary care.
Just like human health insurance, pet health insurance has annual premiums, deductibles, co-payments, maximum payouts, and pre-existing condition limitations. Policy types vary and cover a wide range of veterinary care, from routine examinations to treatment for serious illnesses like cancer.
The cost of pet health insurance depends on different factors, such as species, age, and type of policy, but may be less expensive than paying for veterinary bills on your own. And you may even be able to get a reduced rate if you insure more than one pet with the same company.
Where can you get it?
Pet insurance is a relatively new insurance product. However, an increasing number of insurance companies are getting involved in the pet insurance market, and some employers are even offering it as an employee benefit. If you’re interested in obtaining pet insurance, ask your veterinarian or local breeder’s association, look in pet magazines, or search the Internet for more information.
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Home Insurance
30% no claims, full accidental loss and damage cover, Regal Insurance provides you with that little extra piece of mind from your home insurance.
Having home insurance is vital, but the type of home insurance that you sign up for will vary depending on your needs. What you should do is look to sign up to a company that will tailor make a policy for you; lots of companies only have set home insurance packages that you can sign up to. What this means is that you end up paying more than you need for your home insurance, because you are paying for ‘perks’ that you will never use.
Companies such as Regal Insurance will amend their home insurance package to suit your exact needs. You can get your building covered up to a value of £1,500,000 and your contents up to a value of £500,000.
With Regal, you are covered for most items up to a value of £5,000 although you can insure individual items separately on a policy if they are worth more.
It is all about making the policy work for you, and choosing a policy that is perfect for you and your needs.
There are loads of other benefits to having a high value insurance policy. Although no one can deny the fact that you have to pay a monthly premium, the peace of mind that this gives you more than makes up for the cost.
No one likes to think about the possibility that something bad might happen to their house. However, what you need to make sure is that you are covered in the event that it does. Of course financial compensation won’t make up for the distress that an event like this causes, but it can at least be there to help you and your family get back on your feet when you need it most.
Find More Insurance Articles
Home Insurance
30% no claims, full accidental loss and damage cover, Regal Insurance provides you with that little extra piece of mind from your home insurance.
Having home insurance is vital, but the type of home insurance that you sign up for will vary depending on your needs. What you should do is look to sign up to a company that will tailor make a policy for you; lots of companies only have set home insurance packages that you can sign up to. What this means is that you end up paying more than you need for your home insurance, because you are paying for perks that you will never use.
Companies such as Regal Insurance will amend their home insurance package to suit your exact needs. You can get your building covered up to a value of 1,500,000 and your contents up to a value of 500,000.
With Regal, you are covered for most items up to a value of 5,000 although you can insure individual items separately on a policy if they are worth more. It is all about making the policy work for you, and choosing a policy that is perfect for you and your needs.
There are loads of other benefits to having a high value insurance policy. Although no one can deny the fact that you have to pay a monthly premium, the peace of mind that this gives you more than makes up for the cost.
No one likes to think about the possibility that something bad might happen to their house. However, what you need to make sure is that you are covered in the event that it does. Of course financial compensation wont make up for the distress that an event like this causes, but it can at least be there to help you and your family get back on your feet when you need it most.
Insurance Concepts
So we’ve all heard about the huge health insurance debate that has raged in this country for many years now. Parties on either side of the aisle have presented their case in hopes to sway the voters over to their point of view. While these are important issues, it is way beyond the scope of this article. In this article, I’ll go over the very basics of insurance, it’s principles and terminology. That way, when you hear news reports and such, you’ll be better informed.
Insurance has been around for many centuries. What is probably the most famous is a company you may have heard of, Lloyds of London. They started back when explorers would set out to the world. If they came back, then the people at Lloyds would reap some of the benefits. If they disappeared, then Lloyds would incur their cash advance. Companies and kings alike used Lloyds to protect against potential loss as they sent their ships out in search of new lands.
Insurance companies today operate based on the same principles.
To protect against loss due to unforeseen events in the future. It’s based on something from mathematics called the “Law of Large Numbers.” If there are thousands of people each paying a small amount of money every month, the insurance company can afford to pay individuals in case of an accident or other event. This only works if the chances of any given event is less than the total amount of contributions by all individuals.
In order to create a new policy, the insurance company has to evaluate the potential risks involved. If the risks are low enough, and they think they can afford to pay out in case of an accident or event, then they will initiate coverage. If, on the other hand, the risk is deemed to be too great, like car insurance for somebody who has been in twenty accidents, they will not be able to offer coverage.
To stay in business, the insurance company has to make sure that any risk of any event happening is smaller than the total amount of people participating in the plan.
If the risks start to get too large, then the company will have to do one of two things.
First off is to start charging everybody more for their insurance. The second thing is to simply deny coverage for certain events, or to certain individuals who are higher risk than others.
The bottom line is that the less likely something is going to happen, the less you’ll have to pay to insure against it. The higher the chance become, the more you’ll have to pay.
Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance is additional liability insurance. It is often bought as an ad-on insurance policy to one of the regular insurance policies. As the name suggests, umbrella insurance works like an umbrella sitting on the top of your other insurance policy and provide added financial protection if other policies cannot compensate the loss.
For instance, your vehicle damages another vehicle, and you find out that you have to pay far more than your insurance coverage allows. In this case, if you don’t have an umbrella insurance policy, where will you to get that money? Umbrella insurance, this aspect of additional payment is easily taken care of and you don’t have to worry for it.
Earlier the common belief was that only the rich and elite need to buy umbrella insurance. This is no longer the case now as people have realized that anyone can be sued for anything at any point of time. Umbrella insurance is therefore now popular among one and all as it throws in added protection against losses.
Suppose a man falls on your front steps or the tree that you have on your land falls on a neighbor’s house during a storm, you can be successfully sued for damage.
Remember every incident that takes place on your property or has something to do with your property is your liability and you can be sued for it. Often it happens a traditional homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover these additional losses. Umbrella policies will provide protection in all such situations which usual liability policies can not cover.
Though being being wealthy isn’t a prerequisite for needing umbrella insurance, most of the people who fall into this category require it.
Reason- the more money you have the more of a target you become for lawsuits. Therefore you have to make an extra effort in ensuring protection of yourself. Umbrella insurance simply does that.
Click on the following link to contact us for affordable and comprehensive umbrella insurance policy.