About: Reinsurance to close

Reinsurance to close (RITC) is a business transaction whereby the estimated future liabilities of an insurance company are reinsured into another, in order that the profitability of the former can be finally determined. It is most closely associated with the Lloyd's of London insurance market that comprises numerous competing "syndicates", and in order to close each accounting year and declare a profit or loss, each syndicate annually "reinsures to close" its books. In most cases, the liabilities are simply reinsured into the subsequent accounting year of the same syndicate, however, in some circumstances the RITC may be made to a different syndicate or even to a company outside of the Lloyd's market.