Concurrency is central to the “firmness” of a traditional firm order terms (FOT) process, yet it leaves cedents and reinsurers alike thinking they see opportunities left on the table. In reality, these opportunities are a mirage – without concurrency they disappear, leaving in their place an expensive process that struggles to match the performance of concurrent terms. So why do cedents see opportunities, and why do those opportunities disappear? We will see that the answer, witnessed in analogous markets across a wide variety of industries, lies in game theory – for a reinsurer, to be paid far below the rest of the market is leaves money on the table risks undermining their own portfolio; when cedents relax concurrency, reinsurers who would otherwise have been competitive typically protect themselves by offering less-favorable terms than they would be willing to accept as concurrent FOT.

Tremor’s supply curves and market clearing technology give reinsurers more control over their final lines. As a reinsurer, as soon as a renewal lands on your desk you typically know what you want. Unfortunately, the road to your final line is long. The cedent’s firm order terms – if they are even set when the submission first arrives – will be extrapolated from models and selected reinsurer input. Invariably, these extrapolated prices will be imperfect, and finalizing the placement will require sign-downs or other adjustments.

Insurance companies worry about finding reinsurance that works for their businesses. In today’s hard market this concern is palpable. Without clear information about what the market will bear, we see many cedents tightening their reinsurance buys, limiting the options that they consider, and driving hard on the cost of what they do buy. Through all this, opportunity is lost. Variations that might be profitable for cedent and reinsurer alike are never explored.