North Carolina Property and Casualty State Practice Exam

Reinsurance involves insurers sharing their risks by selling parts of their contracts to other companies, which helps them manage their exposure to large losses. In the insurance industry, a primary insurer may face substantial financial risks from claims made by policyholders. To mitigate this risk, the primary insurer can cede a portion of its risk to a reinsurer. This way, by distributing the risk across multiple entities, the primary insurer can safeguard its financial stability while ensuring that it can fulfill its obligations to policyholders.

The other choices do not accurately describe reinsurance. Directly paying claims to policyholders is a fundamental aspect of primary insurance, not reinsurance. While investments do play a role in the overall business model of insurance companies, reinsurance itself is not primarily a profit generation strategy; rather, it is a risk management tool. Lastly, while large corporations may utilize reinsurance for their specific, high-value needs, reinsurance is not exclusive to them; it is commonly used by insurers of all sizes to reduce risk.