Insurance Tips

B

• BASIC RATE - The standard charge for a given type of risk.
• BI/PD - Bodily Injury / Property Damage Liability Coverage.
• BINDER - A temporary or preliminary agreement that provides coverage until a policy can be written or delivered.
• BODILY INJURY - Term used in Auto and Casualty policies that means physical injury, including sickness, disease, mental injury, shock, or death.
• BODILY INJURY LIABILITY - Pays when an insured person is legally liable for bodily injury or death caused by your vehicle or your operation of most non-owned vehicles. This coverage also pays for your legal defence if you are sued.
• BROAD FORM - Any of the commercial or personal lines property forms which provide coverage on a named perils basis. This form normally adds the Extended Coverage and Vandalism and Malicious Mischief coverages. This form is generally used for coverages on a Homeowners Policy
• BROKER - An independent person or firm who acts on behalf of the insured in placing business with the insurance company. Responsible for the collection of premiums but having no authority to give coverage on the insurance company’s behalf without their specific agreement. Compensation is on a commission basis.
• BURGLARY - Unlawful removal of property from premises involving visible forcible entry.
• BUSINESS INTERRUPTION - Insurance against business expenses and loss of income resulting from fire or other insured peril.

D

• DECLARATIONS (DEC SHEET) - A term used in insurance for the portion of the contract that contains information such as the name and address of the insured, the property insured, its location and description, the policy period, the amount of insurance coverage, applicable premiums, and supplemental representations by the insured.
• DEDUCTIBLE - The portion of a loss that you are required to pay before your insurance coverage will respond. Deductibles can be used to reduce your physical damage premiums. For example, if you owned a policy with a $200 deductible and you suffered a covered loss totalling $1,000, you would pay the first $200 and the insurance company would pay the remaining $800. If the loss were only $200, you would pay the entire amount and the insurance company would pay nothing.
• DEPRECIATION - Decrease in the value of property over a period of time due to use, wear, tear, and obsolescence. For example, if you paid $500 for a television set five years ago, its current value minus depreciation might be only $125, for example.
• DIRECT LOSS (OR DAMAGE) - A loss which is a direct consequence of a particular peril. Fire damage to a refrigerator would be a direct loss. Spoiling of food in the refrigerator as a result of the fire damage would be an indirect loss.
• DIRECT WRITER - An insurance company that sells its policies through salaried employees (licensed agents) who represent it exclusively, rather than through independent local agents, who represent several insurance companies.

C

• CANCELLATION - Termination of an insurance coverage during the policy period by the voluntary act of the insurance company or insured, effected in accordance with provisions in the contract or by mutual agreement.
• CATASTROPHE - A sudden, great disaster.
• CIVIL LIABILITY - Liability to other motorists, pedestrians, and property owners that you assume when operating your automobile on a public roadway.
• CLAIM - Notice to an insurer that under the terms of a policy, a loss may be covered.
• CLAUSE - A term used to identify a particular part of a policy or endorsement.
• CO-INSURANCE - In property insurance, a clause under which the insured shares in losses to the extent that he is underinsured at the time of loss.
• COLLISION COVERAGE - An optional coverage designed to provide protection for your vehicle when damage occurs as a result of a collision with another object. This coverage is optional and may be purchased in addition to the mandatory coverage required by law, and it is subject to a deductible.
• COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE - Comprehensive insurance reimburses you for damage to your own car from causes other than collision or overturning. The comprehensive portion of your policy pays for loss due to perils like hail, flood, theft, fire, glass breakage, falling objects, missiles, explosions, earthquakes, windstorms, vandalism or malicious mischief, riot or civil commotion, and collision with a bird or an animal. When you look at a policy’s comprehensive coverage, check for Exclusions or limitations. If you have a special audio system installed in your car, for example, you should make sure your policy would cover the cost of the equipment if it were damaged or stolen. It’s also important to know if the policy pays for the Actual Cash Value of damaged or stolen property (its current value after depreciation has been subtracted or the full amount required to replace it today.)
• COMPULSORY INSURANCE - Any form of insurance which is required by law.
• CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE - A loss that is an indirect result of an accident or fire, e.g. food spoiled through breakdown of a refrigerator.
• COVER - To insure.
• COVERAGE - Insurance.

E

• EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE - Insurance covering damage caused by an earthquake as defined in the contract.
• EFFECTIVE DATE - The date on which an insurance policy or bond goes into effect, and from which protection is furnished.
• EMBEZZLEMENT - The fraudulent use of money or property which has been entrusted to one’s care.
• EMPLOYERS LIABILITY INSURANCE - Coverage against common law liability of an employer for accidents to employees, as distinguished from liability imposed by a workers’ compensation law.
• ENDORSEMENT - Amendment to the policy used to add or delete coverage; also referred to as a “rider.”
• EXCLUSIONS - Certain causes and conditions, listed in the policy, which are not covered.
• EXPIRATION - The date upon which a policy will end.
• EXPOSURE - Degree of hazard threatening a risk because of external or internal physical conditions.
• EXTENDED COVERAGE (EC) - A common extension of property insurance beyond coverage for fire and lightning. Extended coverage adds insurance against loss by the perils of windstorm, hail, explosion, riot and riot attending a strike (civil commotion), aircraft damage, vehicle damage, smoke damage, and volcanic eruption.

F

• FAIR MARKET VALUE - The price that a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to sell or buy.
• FIRE - Combustion sufficient to produce a spark, flame, or glow and which is hostile (as opposed to friendly – i.e. not in the place where it is intended to be, such as in a furnace.)
• FIRE INSURANCE - Coverage for loss of or damage to a building and/or contents due to fire.
• FIRE RESISTIVE CONSTRUCTION - A building that has exterior walls, floors, and roof constructed of masonry or other fire-resistive materials.
• FLOATER POLICY - A policy under the terms of which protection follows moveable property, covering it wherever it may be.
• FLOOD INSURANCE - A form of insurance designed to reimburse property owners from loss due to the defined peril of flood; usually sold in connection with a government Flood Insurance plan.
• FORGERY - Any false writing with intent to defraud.
• FORM - An insurance policy itself or riders and endorsements attached to it.
• FORTUITOUS EVENT - An unforeseen accident.

G

• GARAGING LOCATION - The postal code where your vehicle is parked or garaged when not in use. This is usually your primary residence.
• GENERAL AVERAGE - Damages are deliberately incurred by the master of the vessel, including jettison of some of the cargo, or incurring towing charges in order to save the ship and cargo from a threatened peril. These costs, called general average sacrifices, are proportioned among all of the parties to the marine adventure, including the owners of the cargo and the shipowner.
• GRACE PERIOD - A period after the premium due date, during which an overdue premium may be paid without penalty. The policy remains in force throughout this period.

H

• HAZARD - A specific situation that increases the probability of the occurrence of loss arising from a peril, or that may influence the extent of the loss. For example, accident, sickness, fire, flood, liability, burglary, and explosion are perils. Slippery floors, unsanitary conditions, shingled roofs, congested traffic, unguarded premises, and uninspected boilers are also hazards.
• HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT - Hold Harmless Agreements are contracts signed with marinas before a boat is allowed stored in that facility.
• HOMEOWNER INSURANCE - An elective combination of coverages for the risks of owning a home; can include losses due to fire, burglary, vandalism, earthquake, and other perils.
• HOUSEKEEPING - The general care, cleanliness and maintenance of an insured property.

I

• IMPROVEMENTS AND BETTERMENTS - Additions or changes made by a lessee at his own cost to a building which he is occupying which enhance its value. These become part of the realty and require special insurance consideration.
• INDEMNIFY - To restore the victim of a loss, in whole or in part, by payment, repair, or replacement.
• INDIRECT LOSS (OR DAMAGE) - Loss resulting from a peril, but not caused directly and immediately thereby. For example, loss of property due to fire is a direct loss, while the loss of rental income as the result of the fire would be an indirect loss.
• INSPECTION - Independent checking on facts about an applicant or claimant, usually by a commercial inspection agency.
• INSURABILITY - Acceptability of an applicant for insurance to the insurance company.
• INSURANCE - A formal social device for reducing risk by transferring the risks of several individual entities to an insurer. The insurer agrees, for a consideration, to assume, to a specified extent, the losses suffered by the insured.
• INSURANCE POLICY - Legal document issued to the insured setting out the terms of the contract of insurance.
• INSURANCE TO VALUE - Insurance written in an amount approximating the value of the property insured.
• INSURED - The person (or persons) whose risk of financial loss from an insured peril is protected by the policy; sometimes called the “policyholder”.
• INSURER - The insurance company.

J

• JOINT TENANCY - Ownership of property shared equally by two or more parties under which the survivor assumes complete ownership. This is different from a tenancy in common where the heirs of a deceased party to the tenancy inherit his or her share.

K

L

• LAPSE - Termination of a policy because of failure to pay the premium.
• LESSEE - The person to whom a lease is granted, more commonly called the tenant.
• LESSOR - The person granting a lease, also known as the landlord.
• LIABILITY INSURANCE - In an accident where you are charged with injuring another person or damaging his or her property, liability insurance pays the cost of your legal defence, as well as the cost of any damages for which you are found legally responsible. Liability, Collision and Comprehensive These are the three main types of coverage available in an auto insurance policy. Liability pays other people if you’ve injured them or damaged their property. Collision pays to repair damage to your car caused by (what else?) collisions. Comprehensive pays you for your losses due to theft and other calamities that are unrelated to collisions – like damage from hail, fire, vandalism, floods, etc.
• LIABILITY LIMITS - The sum or sums beyond which a liability insurance company does not protect the insured on a particular policy.
• LIBEL - A written statement about someone that is personally injurious to that individual.
• LIMIT OF LIABILITY - The maximum amount that an insurance company agrees to pay in case of loss.
• LIMITS - Maximum amount a policy will pay either overall or under a particular coverage.
• LOSS - Generally refers to (1) the amount of reduction in the value of an insured’s property caused by an insured peril, (2) the amount sought through an insured’s claim, or (3) the amount paid on behalf of an insured under an insurance contract.
• LOSS OF USE INSURANCE - Coverage to compensate an insured for the loss of use of property if it cannot be used because of a peril covered by the policy.

M

• MARKET VALUE - The price for which something would sell, especially the value of certain types of assets, such as stocks and bonds. It is based on what they would sell for under current market conditions. For example, common stock market value would be the price of the stock as of a specified date.
• MATERIAL MISREPRESENTATION - The policyholder/applicant makes a false statement of any material (important) fact on his/her application. For instance, the policyholder provides false information regarding the location where the vehicle is garaged.
• MORAL HAZARD - A condition of morals or habits that increase the probability of a loss from a peril.
• MORALE HAZARD - An attitude that increases the probability of loss from a peril. The attitude of, “It’s insured; so why worry?” is an example of a morale hazard.
• MORTGAGE INSURANCE POLICY - In life and health insurance, a policy the benefits from which are intended to pay off the balance due on a mortgage or meet the payments on a mortgage as they fall due upon or after the death or disability of the insured.
• MORTGAGEE - The creditor to whom a mortgage is given and who lends money on the security of the value of the property mortgaged.
• MORTGAGOR - The debtor who receives money and in turn grants a mortgage on his property as security for a loan.

N

• NAMED INSURED - The first person in whose name the insurance policy is issued.
• NAMED PERILS - Named perils are the specific dangers a policy insures you against—such as fire, windstorm, and hail in a homeowner’s policy. These perils are “named” or listed in the policy.
• NEGLIGENCE - Failure to use that degree of care which an ordinary person of reasonable prudence would use under the given circumstances. Negligence may be constituted by acts of either omission or commission or both.
• NO-FAULT INSURANCE - No-fault insurance is designed to speed up claims payments to accident victims and to lower the cost of auto insurance by reducing the number of lawsuits for minor claims. Under no-fault insurance, a person’s own insurance company pays for financial losses like medical expenses and lost wages due to an accident, regardless of who caused it. (In a fault system, your expenses won’t be paid by the other party’s insurance company until he or she has been proved negligent.) In exchange, the right to sue may be restricted in some cases.

O

• OCCASIONAL DRIVER - A person who is not the primary or principal driver of the vehicle.
• OCCUPANCY - In insurance, this term refers to the type and character of the use of property in question.
• OCCURRENCE - An event that results in an insured loss. In some lines of insurance, such as Liability, it is distinguished from accident in that the loss does not have to be sudden and fortuitous and can result from continuous or repeated exposure which results in bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended by the insured.

P

• PARTIAL LOSS - A loss under an insurance policy that does not either (1) completely destroy or render worthless the insured property or (2) exhaust the insurance applying thereto.
• PERIL - Cause of a possible loss. For example, fire, theft, or hail.
• PERSONAL ARTICLES FLOATER - Provides all risk coverage, subject to reasonable exclusions for valuable items such as furs, jewellery, cameras, silverware, etc. formerly insured under separate contracts. The items are generally listed by description and value. This can be contrasted to the personal effects floater.
• PERSONAL INJURY - Injury other than bodily injury arising out of false arrest or detention, malicious prosecution, wrongful entry or eviction, libel or slander, or violation of a person’s right to privacy committed other than in the course of advertising, publishing, broadcasting or telecasting. Contrast with Advertising Injury.
• PERSONAL PROPERTY - Any property of an insured other than real property. Homeowner policies protect the personal property of family members, and commercial forms are used to protect many types of business personal property of an insured.
• PERSONAL PROPERTY FLOATER - A broad policy covering all personal property world-wide, including insured’s domicile.
• PERSONAL PROPERTY LIMITATIONS - Don’t assume everything you own is adequately insured by a standard homeowner’s policy. The typical homeowner’s policy provides only limited coverage for many expensive items. Extra coverage can be purchased separately.
• PHYSICAL DAMAGE - A generic term indicating actual damage to property.
• PHYSICAL DAMAGE COVERAGE - Physical damage coverage insures you against damage to your car. The physical damage section of an automobile policy can include both comprehensive coverage – which protects you against theft and vandalism, among other things – and collision coverage.
• PHYSICAL HAZARD - The material, structural, or operational features of the risk itself, apart from the morale or moral hazards of the persons owning or managing it.
• PILFERAGE - Petty theft, especially theft of articles in less than package lots.
• POLICY - Legal document issued to the insured setting out the terms of the contract of insurance.
• POLICY EXPIRATION DATE - The date when your current insurance policy expires. This date can be found on your current Declaration (or “DEC”) page, insurance identification card, or recent cancellation notice. This date is not to be confused with the date of your next payment or the date when your renewal payment is due.
• POLICY LIMIT - The maximum amount a policy will pay, either overall or under a particular coverage.
• POLICY PERIOD (OR TERM) - The period during which the policy contract provides protection, e.g. six months or one or three years.
• POLICYHOLDER - The person (or persons) whose risk of financial loss from an insured peril is protected by the policy.
• PREFERRED RISK - An insurance classification indicating a risk that is superior to the average risk on which the rate has been calculated and thus eligible for a reduced rate.
• PREMISES - The particular location of property or a portion thereof as designated in a policy.
• PREMIUM - The amount of money an insurance company charges for insurance coverage.
• PRIMARY RESIDENCE - The place where you will reside for the majority of your policy term.
• PRINCIPLE DRIVER - The person who drives the car most often.
• PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE - Liability insurance to indemnify professionals, doctors, lawyers, architects, etc. for loss or expense resulting from claim on account of bodily injuries because of any malpractice, error, or mistake committed or alleged to have been committed by the insured in his profession.
• PROHIBITED RISK - Any class of business which an insurance company will not insure under any condition.
• PROOF OF LOSS - A formal statement made by the insured to the insurance company regarding a loss. The purpose of the proof of loss is to place before the company sufficient information concerning the loss to enable it to determine its liability under the policy.
• PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY - Pays when an insured person is legally liable for damage to the property of others caused by your vehicle or your operation of most non-owned vehicles. This coverage also pays for your legal defence costs if you are sued.
• PROPERTY DAMAGE UNINSURED MOTORIST - Property damage uninsured or underinsured coverage protects you in situations where your vehicle has been wrecked by another driver who doesn’t have adequate coverage or no insurance at all, and can’t pay for your losses. With this coverage, your own insurance company would pay up to the limit of your policy, to have your car fixed or replaced.
• PROPERTY INSURANCE - Property Insurance indemnifies an insured whose property is stolen, damaged, or destroyed by a covered peril. The term property insurance includes direct or indirect property losses covered in several lines of insurance.
• PROTECTION - (1) Term used interchangeably with the word “coverage” to denote the insurance provided under the terms of a policy. (2) Term used to indicate the existence of fire-fighting facilities in an area known as a “protected” area.

Q

• QUOTE - An estimate of the cost of insurance, based on information supplied to the insurance company by the applicant.

R

• RACE/SPEED TEST - Most policies exclude damages to your vessel while operated in an official race or speed test unless you are operating a sailboat. If this is unclear and you find yourself regularly involved in this activity, contact your broker for assistance.
• RATE - The per-unit cost of insurance. (See Premium).
• REINSTATEMENT - Restoring a lapsed policy back in force. The reinstatement may be effective after the cancellation date, creating a lapse of coverage. Some companies require evidence of insurability and payment of past due premiums plus interest.
• REINSURANCE - (1) A contract of indemnity against liability by which the insurance company procures another insurance to insure it against loss or liability by reason of the original insurance. (2) Insurance by one insurance company of all or part of a risk accepted by it with another insurance company which agrees to reimburse the insurance company for the portion of the claim reinsured. The insurance company obtaining the reinsurance is called the “ceding insurance company”; the insurance company issuing the reinsurance is called the “reinsurer.” A reinsurer may, in turn, seek reinsurance on some portion of the risk it has reinsured, a process known as “retrocession.”
• REMOVABLE EQUIPMENT - Removable Equipment, when not onboard your boat, may not be covered. It may be assumed that you can rely on a homeowners’ policy. In some situations, unless equipment is specifically identified in your homeowners or tenants policy, it may be excluded, or if it is covered, any loss settlement may incorporate a depreciation factor. Make sure your equipment is covered both on and off your vessel under the same policy.
• RENEWAL - The continuation in full force and effect of something that is about to expire. With an insurance policy it is made either by the issuance of a new policy or renewal receipt or certificate, to take effect upon the expiration of the old policy.
• REPLACEMENT COST - The cost of replacing property without deduction for depreciation.
• RIDER - Usually known as an endorsement, a rider is an amendment to the policy used to add or delete coverage.
• RISK - (1) A chance of loss. (2) A person or thing insured. (Impaired or substandard risk: an applicant whose physical condition or moral habits do not meet the standard on which the rate is based).
• RISK MANAGEMENT - Management of the pure risks to which a company might be subject. It involves analyzing all exposures to the possibility of loss and determining how to handle these exposures through such practices as avoiding the risk, retaining the risk, reducing the risk, or transferring the risk, usually by insurance.
• ROBBERY - The felonious taking, either by force or by fear of force, of the personal property of another, commonly known as “hold-up.”

S

• SETTLEMENT - Usually, a policy benefit or claim payment. It connotes an agreement between both parties to the policy contract as to the amount and method of payment.
• SPECIFIED PERILS - An optional coverage designed to provide basic protection for your vehicle for loss or damage resulting from incidents specifically stated in your policy. A few examples of the types of losses insured under named perils coverage include fire, lightning, theft, explosion, earthquake, windstorm and hail. This coverage is optional and may be purchased in addition to the mandatory coverage required by law, and it is subject to a deductible.
• SUBROGATION - The right of an insurance company to step into the shoes of the party whom they compensate and sue any party whom the compensated party could have sued.

T

• TENANTS POLICY - A Homeowners form that is specifically designed for people who rent.
• THEFT - Any act of stealing. Theft includes larceny, burglary, and robbery.
• THIRD PARTY INSURANCE - Protection of the insured against liability for damage to or destruction of the bodies or property of others.
• TOTAL LOSS - A loss of sufficient size so that it can be said there is nothing left of value; the complete destruction of the property. The term is also used to mean a loss requiring the maximum amount a policy will pay.
• TRANSFER OF RISK - Shifting all or part of a risk to another party. Insurance is the most common method of risk transfer, but other devices, such as hold harmless agreements, also transfer risk; one of the four major risk management techniques. See Risk Management.
• TRAILERING & NAVIGATION LIMITS - Trailering & Navigation Limits can restrict where and when you’re able to operate your vessel. It’s essential that you don’t find yourself in a position where you fall outside of these parameters and face the possibility of not having coverage in place.

U

• UMBRELLA LIABILITY POLICY - A policy that pays for liability losses in excess of those covered in homeowners and auto insurance.
• UNDERWRITER - (1) A person trained in evaluating risks and determining the rates and coverage that will be used for them. (2) An agent, especially a life insurance agent, who might qualify as a “field underwriter.” In theory, the agent is supposed to do some underwriting before submitting the case to the home office underwriter; i.e. to make a decision on the basis of facts known to him on whether or not the risk is sound and to report all facts known to him that might affect the risk.
• UNDERWRITING - The process of evaluating a risk for the purpose of issuing insurance coverage on it.

V

• VANDALISM - Used synonymously with malicious mischief; willful physical damage to property. VANDALISM AND MALICIOUS MISCHIEF (V&MM) – Damage or destruction to property which is wilful. This coverage can be purchased under many Property forms and is automatically covered under most Homeowners policies.
• VALUATION - Estimation of the value of an item, usually by appraisal.
• VIN - The vehicle identification number (VIN) on your vehicle. This number is usually found on the dashboard of your vehicle on the driver’s side, and is usually listed on the vehicle registration and title. The VIN is a combination of letters and numbers 17 characters in length that can be used to identify the make, model, and year of your car.

W

• WAIVER - (1) A rider waiving (excluding) liability for a stated cause of accident or (especially) sickness. (2) A provision or rider agreeing to waive (forego) premium payment during a period of disability. (3) The giving up or surrender of a right or privilege that is known to exist. It may be affected by the agent, adjuster, or insurance company employee or official orally or in writing.
• WARRANTY - Similar to exclusions, warranties are added to a yacht policy to restrict the use of your vessel in certain situations. Warranties are not always clearly marked and are sometimes buried within policy wordings. Pay careful attention to these warranties, as you may not be covered in certain situations. In some cases, warranties may be added to accommodate a unique situation and in essence provide extended coverage. As an example, an insurer may add a warranty to a policy stating that your vessel cannot exceed 45 mph. If this is the case, and you have an accident, the insurer may be entitled to void your coverage if it can be determined that your vessel is capable of greater than 45 mph.

X

Y

Z