Downside Risk Premium

Premium

The downside risk premium represents the additional cost in option pricing that investors pay to protect against future negative price movements of the underlying asset. This premium manifests as higher implied volatility for out-of-the-money put options compared to traditional theoretical valuations. It reflects market fear or tail risk aversion, where participants demand increased compensation for bearing the risk of a sharp downturn. The presence of this premium indicates a market expectation of non-normal distributions with higher probabilities of extreme negative events.