A risk management approach to the pricing of a single equity-linked contract

Abstract

For a single equity-linked contract (hence with no mortality diversification), we examine the implications of using option pricing theory to fix the premium. We consider investment strategies involving the underlying, bonds and European puts and compute different probabilities of real loss at any time during the contract term, a form of VaR calculation. With the objective of chosing a strategy to minimize loss probabilities, we exhibit a variety of situations depending on the guarantee, the volatility and the age of the insured.