Glossary

Actual historical exchange rates for the specific accounting period, being the average rates over the period for the income statement and the closing rates at the balance sheet date for the balance sheet.

Administration expenses are expenses and renewal commissions incurred in managing existing business.

Alternative performance measures (APMs) are non-GAAP measures used by the Prudential Group within its annual reports to supplement disclosures prepared in accordance with widely accepted guideline and principles established by accounting standard setters, such as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These measures provide useful information to enhance the understanding of the Group’s financial performance. A reconciliation of these APMs to IFRS metrics is provided in the additional unaudited financial information section of the annual report.

The stocks of most foreign companies that trade in the US markets are traded as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). US depositary banks issue these stocks. Each ADR represents one or more shares of foreign stock or a fraction of a share. The price of an ADR corresponds to the price of the foreign stock in its home market, adjusted to the ratio of the ADRs to foreign company shares.

A measure of new business sales, which is a key metric for the Group’s management of the development and growth of the business. APE is calculated as the aggregate of annualised regular premiums from new business and one-tenth of single premiums on new business written during the period for all insurance products, including premiums for contracts designated as investment contracts under IFRS 4.

Assets under management represent all assets managed or administered by or on behalf of the Group, including those assets managed by third parties. Assets under management include managed assets that are included within the Group’s statement of financial position and those assets belonging to external clients outside the Prudential Group, which are therefore not included in the Group’s statement of financial position. These are also referred to as ‘funds under management (FUM)’. 

Securities that have been acquired neither for short-term sale nor to be held to maturity. AFS securities are measured at fair value on the statement of financial position with unrealised gains and losses being booked in Other Comprehensive Income instead of the income statement.

An agreement with a bank to offer insurance and investment products to the bank’s customers.

Bonuses refer to the non-guaranteed benefit added to participating life insurance policies and are the way in which policyholders receive their share of the profits of the policies. These include regular bonus and final bonus and the rates may vary from period to period.  

Amounts paid by our business units to the Group comprising dividends and other transfers net of capital injections, which are reflective of emerging earnings and capital generation.

The amount of cash available to a policy holder on the surrender of or withdrawal from a life insurance policy or annuity contract.

In a reinsurance arrangement, an allowance (usually a percentage of the reinsurance premium) can be made by the reinsurer for part or all of a ceding company's acquisition and other costs. 

A regulatory framework that governs the insurance industry in China effective from 1 March 2021. The second phase of the C-ROSS was completed on 30 December 2021 to be effective in the first quarter of 2022.

CIS is an open-ended investment fund of pooled assets in which an investor can buy and sell units that are issued in the form of shares. 

Prudential plc reports its results at both actual exchange rates (AER) to reflect actual results and also constant exchange rates (CER) to eliminate the impact from exchange translation. CER results are calculated by translating prior year results using current period foreign currency exchange rates, ie current period average rates for the income statements and current period closing rate for the balance sheet.

Borrowings which Prudential considers forming part of its core capital structure and excludes operational borrowings.

The risk of loss if another party fails to meet its obligations, or fails to do so in a timely fashion.

The risk that asset or liability values, cash flows, income or expenses will be affected by changes in exchange rates. Also referred to as foreign exchange risk.

A contractual right to receive, as a supplement to guaranteed benefits, additional benefits that are likely to be a significant portion of the total contractual benefits; whose amount or timing is contractually at the discretion of the issuer; and that are contractually based on asset, fund, company or other entity performance.

Dividend cover is calculated as operating profit after tax on an IFRS basis, divided by the current year interim dividend plus the proposed final dividend.

An ordinary individual life insurance product that provides the insured party with various guaranteed benefits if it survives specific maturity dates or periods stated in the policy. Upon the death of the insured party within the coverage period, a designated beneficiary receives the face value of the policy.

ESG refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business, which is qualitative and non-financial and not readily quantifiable in monetary terms. The key features of Prudential ESG framework are its three strategic pillars: 1) making health and financial security accessible; 2) stewarding the human impacts of climate change; and 3) building social capital. 

Financial results that are prepared on a supplementary basis to the Group’s consolidated IFRS results and which are prepared in accordance with a set of Principles issued by the CFO Forum of European Insurance Companies in 2016. Embedded value is a way of measuring the current value to shareholders of the future profits from life business written based on a set of assumptions.

See ‘ assets under management (AUM)’ above.

Group free surplus at the end of the period comprises free surplus for the insurance businesses, representing the excess of the net worth over the required capital included in the EEV results and IFRS net assets for the asset management and other businesses, excluding goodwill. The free surplus generated during the period comprises the movement in this balance excluding foreign exchange, capital and other reserve movements. Specifically, it includes amounts emerging from the in-force operations during the year, net of amounts reinvested in writing new business, the effect of market movements and other one-off items.

Regulatory framework developed by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (see below) for multinational insurance groups under its supervision. The GWS Framework is based on a principle-based and outcome-focused approach, and allows the Hong Kong Insurance Authority to exercise direct regulatory powers over the designated holding companies of multinational insurance groups.

These comprise health and personal accident insurance products, which provide morbidity or sickness benefits and include health, disability, critical illness and accident coverage. Health and protection products are sold both as standalone policies and as riders that can be attached to life insurance products. Health and protection riders are presented together with ordinary individual life insurance products for the purposes of disclosure of financial information.

The Hong Kong IA is an insurance regulatory body responsible for the regulation and supervision of the Hong Kong insurance industry. 

An insurance policy or contract reflected on records that has not expired, matured or otherwise been surrendered or terminated.

The IAIS is a voluntary membership organisation of insurance supervisors and regulators. It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector.

Accounting standards and practices that are developed and issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

Investments rated BBB- or above for S&P and Baa3 or above for Moody’s. Generally, they are bonds that are judged by the rating agency as likely enough to meet payment obligations that banks are allowed to invest in them.

Insurance products where the surrender value of the policy is linked to the value of underlying investments (such as collective investment schemes, internal investment pools or other property) or fluctuations in the value of underlying investment or indices. Investment risk associated with the product is usually borne by the policyholder. Insurance coverage, investment and administration services are provided for which the charges are deducted from the investment fund assets. Benefits payable will depend on the price of the units prevailing at the time of surrender, death or the maturity of the product, subject to surrender charges. These are also referred to as unit-linked products or unit-linked contracts.

These are measures by which the development, performance or position of the business can be measured effectively. The Group Board reviews the KPIs annually and updates them where appropriate.

Prudential calculates this as assets and resources available to us that are readily convertible to cash to cover corporate obligations in a prescribed stress scenario. We calculate this ratio over a range of time horizons extending to twelve months.

This comprises the premium that is required to compensate for the lower liquidity of corporate bonds relative to swaps and the mark-to-market risk premium that is required to compensate for the potential volatility in corporate bond spreads (and hence market values) at the time of sale.

MDRT is a global, independent association of life insurance and financial services professionals that recognises professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is recognised internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business.

An MMF is a type of mutual fund that has relatively low risks compared to other mutual funds and most other investments and historically has had lower returns. MMF invests in high quality, short-term debt securities and pay dividends that generally reflect short-term interest rates. The purpose of an MMF is to provide investors with a safe place to store cash or as an alternative to investing in the stock market.

Rate of sickness, varying by such parameters as age, gender and health, used in pricing and computing liabilities for future policyholders of health products, which contain morbidity risks.

Rate of death, varying by such parameters as age, gender and health, used in pricing and computing liabilities for future policyholders of life and annuity products, which contain mortality risks.

Life insurance premiums, net of reinsurance ceded to third-party reinsurers.

Net assets for EEV reporting purposes that reflect the regulatory basis position, sometimes with adjustments to achieve consistency with the IFRS treatment of certain items.

New business margin is expressed as the value of new business profit as a percentage of annual premium equivalent (APE) and the present value of new business premiums (PVNBP) expected to be received on an EEV basis.

Borrowings which arise in the normal course of the business, including all lease liabilities under IFRS 16.

The percentage of policies remaining in force from period to period.

A life insurance product with regular periodic premium payments.

Renewal or recurring premiums are the subsequent premiums that are paid on regular premium products.

A supplemental plan that can be attached to a basic insurance policy, typically with payment of additional premiums.

RBC is a method of measuring the minimum amount of capital set by regulators as appropriate for a reporting entity to support its overall business operations in consideration of its size and the level of risk it is faced. RBC limits the amount of risk a company can take and act as a cushion to protect a company from insolvency. RBC is intended to be a minimum regulatory capital standard and not necessarily the full amount of capital that an insurer would want to hold to meet its safety and competitive objectives. In addition, RBC is not designed to be used as a stand-alone tool in determining financial solvency of an insurance company; rather it is one of the tools that give regulators legal authority to take control of an insurance company.

Single premium policies of insurance are those that require only a single lump sum payment from the policyholder.

Stochastic techniques incorporate results from repeated simulations using key financial parameters which are subject to random variations and are projected into the future.

A fixed interest issue or debt that ranks below other debt in order of priority for repayment if the issuer is liquidated. Holders are compensated for the added risk through higher rates of interest. 

The termination of a life insurance policy or annuity contract at the request of the policyholder after which the policyholder receives the cash surrender value, if any, of the contract.

The fee charged to a policyholder when a life insurance policy or annuity contract is surrendered for its cash surrender value prior to the end of the surrender charge period.

Insurance that is compliant with Islamic principles of mutual assistance and risk sharing.

These contracts provide protection for a defined period and a benefit that is payable to a designated beneficiary upon death of the insured.

The value of financial options and guarantees comprises two parts, the intrinsic value and the time value. The intrinsic value is given by a deterministic valuation on best estimate assumptions. The time value is the additional value arising from the variability of economic outcomes in the future.

TSR represents the growth in the value of a share plus the value of dividends paid, assuming that the dividends are reinvested in the Company’s shares on the ex-dividend date.

Unallocated surplus is recorded wholly as a liability and represents the excess of assets over policyholder liabilities for Prudential’s with-profits funds. The balance retained in the unallocated surplus represents cumulative income arising on the with-profits business that has not been allocated to policyholders or shareholders.

See ‘ investment-linked products or contracts’ above.

An insurance product where the customer pays flexible premiums, subject to specified limits, which are accumulated in an account and are credited with interest (at a rate either set by the insurer or reflecting returns on a pool of matching assets). The customer may vary the death benefit and the contract may permit the customer to withdraw the account balance, typically subject to a surrender charge.

The present value of future shareholder cash flows projected to emerge from the assets backing liabilities of the in-force covered business.

A type of life insurance policy that provides lifetime protection; premiums must usually be paid for life. The sum assured is paid out whenever death occurs. Commonly used for estate planning purposes.

For Prudential, the most significant with-profits contracts are written in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. See ‘participating policies or participating business’ above. 

See ‘participating funds’ above. 

A measure of the rate of return received from an investment in percentage terms by comparing annual income (and any change in capital) to the price paid for the investment.

A line graph that shows the relative yields on debt over a range of maturities typically from three months to 30 years. Investors, analysts and economists use yield curves to evaluate bond markets and interest rate expectations.