Determine Claim Rate for Breakeven in Insurance Portfolio
Company: Capital One
Role: Data Scientist
Category: Statistics & Math
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Onsite
##### Scenario
Weather-insurance portfolio profitability.
##### Question
Given: premium $30/month paid 12 months upfront, servicing cost $3/month, benefit cost $8 000/claim, regulatory cost $4/quarter plus $300 per claim. What claim rate yields breakeven? Four customer segments A–D have different cumulative claim risks. Which combination maximizes profit and why? After choosing segments, illustrate how adding B, C, and D changes profit compared with only A.
##### Hints
Compute expected value per policy; select segments with positive expected profit.
Quick Answer: Evaluates weather-insurance portfolio profitability from premiums, servicing, regulatory costs, and expected claims. Strong answers derive break-even claim rate, segment-selection rules, and incremental profit formulas.
Determine Claim Rate for Breakeven in Insurance Portfolio
Capital One
Jul 12, 2025, 6:59 PM
mediumData ScientistOnsiteStatistics & Math
77
0
Weather-Insurance Portfolio Profitability
You price a 12-month weather insurance policy. Customers pay premiums upfront for the year. Each policy can generate regulatory and servicing costs, and possibly a claim. Treat the claim rate as the expected number of claims per policy-year; if at most one claim occurs, this equals the annual claim probability.
Inputs:
Premium: $30 per month, paid for 12 months upfront
Servicing cost: $3 per month
Benefit per claim: $8,000
Regulatory cost:
4perquarterplus
300 per claim
Constraints & Assumptions
Costs are per policy unless stated otherwise.
Ignore time value of money.
Regulatory fixed cost is $16 per policy-year.
Claim rate can be interpreted as expected claims per policy-year.
Clarifying Questions to Ask Guidance
Are claim rates independent across customers and segments?
Are policy counts by segment available?
Are there capital, diversification, regulatory, or fairness constraints on segment selection?
Is the goal expected profit, risk-adjusted profit, or break-even pricing?
Part 1 - Breakeven Claim Rate
What claim rate yields break-even on a per-policy annual basis?