In terms of insurance funding, what does "risk pooling" refer to?

Risk pooling refers to the practice where the contributions (or premium payments) made by a large group of insured individuals are combined to create a fund. This fund is then used to cover the losses experienced by a few individuals in the group who may suffer insured events, such as accidents or illnesses. The fundamental idea behind risk pooling is that, while not every individual will have a claim at any given time, the collective contributions can effectively cover the costs of those who do need to draw from the pool.

This mechanism allows for spreading the financial risk among all participants, making insurance viable and affordable. It takes advantage of the law of large numbers, where the more people who join the pool, the more predictable the loss patterns become, leading to more stable premiums for everyone involved.

The other choices, while they relate to insurance concepts, do not define risk pooling. For instance, segregating high-risk individuals would typically pertain to underwriting practices rather than pooling. The combination of policy dividend options and the adjustment of premiums based on claims involve different aspects of insurance management but are not directly related to the fundamental principle of risk pooling.