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Showing posts from December 1, 2007

Term Insurance Policy

Term policy - It is the purest form of life insurance at the lowest cost. The policy keeps the insured person in the protection net for a specific term as decided by you (normally 5, 10, 15, 20 25, 30 Years). If the insured person passes away, his nominee would receive the insured amount ( Sum Assured, decided for the premium paid when the policy was taken). You can decide the amount (sum assured) which you want your family to receive if some unfortunate incident happens to you. In case you survive the term; you may or may not receive any maturity amount depending on the option chosen by you in the beginning. It has two options- Cover with return of Premium- If the insured person survived the term then premiums paid throughout the term for the life insurance cover are paid back as a maturity benefit. The maturity may or may not include the bonus (depending upon the plan chosen by the Insured). For example- Rs 9000 for a 10 Lac cover for 10 year Term. Cover wi

Glossary-W

Waiting Period: The length of time an employee must wait from his/her date of employment or application for coverage, to the date his/her insurance is effective. Waiting Period: ( see "Elimination Period") Waiver: An agreement attached to a policy which exempts from coverage certain disabilities or injuries that otherwise would be covered by the policy. Waiver of Premium: A provision in some policies to relieve the insured of premium payments falling due during a period of continuous total disability that has lasted for a specified length of time, such as three or six months. Whole Life Insurance: Life insurance payable to a beneficiary at the death of the insured whenever that occurs. Premiums may be payable for a specified number of years (limited payment life) or for life (straight life). Whole Life Insurance: A plan of insurance for the whole of life. It includes straight life on which premiums are payable until death. Will: The legal statement of a perso

Glossary-U

Umbrella Liability: Insures losses in excess of amounts covered by other liability insurance policies; also protects the insured in many situations not covered by the usual liability polices. Unallocated Benefit: A policy provision providing reimbursement up to a maximum amount for the cost of all extra miscellaneous hospital services, but not specifying how much will be paid for each type of service. Underwriter: 1) a company that receives the premiums and accepts responsibility for the fulfillment of the policy contract; 2) the company employee who decides whether or not the company should assume a particular risk; 3) the agent who sells the policy. Underwriting: The process of selecting risks for insurance and determining in what amounts and on what terms the insurance company will accept the risk. Underwriting Profit or Loss: The amount of money which an insurance company gains or loses as a result of its insurance operations. It excludes investment transactions and fe

Glossary-T

Table of multiples : The life expectancy figures provided by the Internal Revenue Service to be used in calculating the exclusion ratio for life contingent annuities after June 30, 1986. Separate tables provide the figures for joint and last survivor annuities, annuities that contain a refund or minimum payment guarantee, and for annuities that pay quarterly, semiannually, or annually. Tax Basis: The cost from which your profits or losses are calculated for income tax purposes. Taxable estate: The value upon which estate taxes are calculated by the federal government. Temporary Life Annuity: An annuity payable while the annuitant lives but not beyond a specified period, such as five years. No payments are to be made after the end of the stipulated temporary period or the death of the annuitant. Tenants in common: A form of joint property ownership in which the owners may have unequal shares and which does not involve a right of survivorship. "Ten Day "Free Look&

Glossary-R

Rate: The pricing factor upon which the insurance buyer's premium is based. Rated Policy: Sometimes called an "extra-risk" policy, an insurance policy issued at a higher-than-standard premium rate to cover the extra risk where, for example, an insured has impaired health or a hazardous occupation. Ratemaking: The statistical process by which insurers determine risks and pricing for the basic classes of insurance. Rating Territory: A geographical grouping in which like hazards tend to equalize and permit the establishment of an equitable rate for the territory. Reasonable and Customary Charge: A charge for health care, which is consistent with the going rate or charge in a certain geographical area for identical or similar services. Rebating: Giving any valuable consideration, usually all or part of the commission, to the prospect or insured as an inducement to buy or renew. Rebating is prohibited by law. Recurring Claim Provision: A provision in some health in

Glossary-Q

Qualification Period : The period during which the insured must be totally disabled before becoming eligible for residual disability benefits. Qualified Impairment Insurance: A form of substandard or special class insurance, which restricts benefits for the insured person's particular condition. Qualified Plan : A plan which the Internal Revenue Service approves as meeting the requirements of Section 401(a) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code. Such plans receive tax advantages. Qualified terminable interest property : A category of property, created by the Economic Recovery Tax Act, which by a deceased spouse's will entitles the surviving spouse to all income from the property for life, with that income payable at least annually, and precludes anyone including the spouse from appointing the property to anyone else during the spouse's life.

Glossary-P

Package Policy: A combination of two or more individual polices or coverages into a single policy. A homeowners policy, for example, is a package combining property, liability and theft coverages for the homeowner. Paid-up Insurance: Insurance on which all required premiums have been paid. The term is frequently used to mean the reduced paid-up insurance available as a nonforfeiture option. Paramedical Examination: Physical examination of an applicant by a trained person other than a physician. Partial Disability: The result of an illness or injury which prevents an insured from performing one or more of the functions of his/her regular job. Partial Disability: A benefit sometimes found in disability income policies providing for the payment of reduced monthly income in the event the insured cannot work full time and/or is prevented from performing one or more important daily duties pertaining to his occupation. Participating Insurance: Insurance issued by an insurance com

Glossary-O

Occupational Hazards : Occupations which expose the insured to greater than normal physical danger by the very nature of the work in which the insured is engaged, and the varying periods of absence from the occupation, due to the disability, that can be expected. Occurrence: An accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general, harmful conditions, that results in bodily injury or property damage during the period of an insurance policy. Occurrence policy: A liability insurance policy that covers claims arising out of occurrences that take place during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is filed. Ocean Marine Insurance: Insurance for sea-going vessels, including liabilities connected with them, and their cargoes. Ocean Marine Insurance: Coverage on all types of vessels, including liabilities connected with them, and on their cargoes. Operating Ratio: The sum of expenses and losses expressed as a percent of earned premium. Op

Glossary-N

Named Perils: Coverage in a property policy that provides protection against loss from only the perils specifically listed in the policy rather than protection from physical loss. Examples of named perils are fire, windstorm, theft, smoke, etc. National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): The association of insurance commissioners of various states formed to promote national uniformity in the regulation of insurance. Negligence: Failure to use the care that a reasonable and prudent person would have used under the same or similar circumstances. Net Premium: The portion of the premium rate which is designed to cover benefits of the policy, but not expenses, contingencies, or profit. The term is also used to describe the portion of the premium remitted to the home office by an agent after deduction of the agent's commission. Net written premiums: premium income retained by insurance companies, directly or through reinsurance, after payments made for reinsurance.

Glossary-M

Mail Order Insurer : Type of insurance company that sells policies through the mail or other mass media, eliminating need for agents. Major Medical Expense Insurance: A form of health insurance that provides benefits for most types of medical expense up to a high maximum benefit, such as $250,000 or higher after a substantial deductible, such as $500 or more. Such contracts may contain internal limits and are normally subject to coinsurance. Major Medical Insurance: Health insurance to finance the expense of major illness and injury. Characterized by large benefit maximums ranging up to $250,000 or no limit, the insurance, above an initial deductible, reimburses the major part of all charges for hospital, doctor, private nurses, medical appliances, prescribed out-of-hospital treatment, drugs, and medicines. The insured person as coinsurer pays the remainder. Malingering: The practice of feigning illness or inability to work in order to collect insurance benefits. Malpractice:

Glossary-L

Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act): This law controls conditions under which an employer may pay any money to a representative of employees. Lapse: The termination or discontinuance of an insurance policy due to non-payment of a premium. Lapsed Policy: A policy terminated for non-payment of premiums. The term is sometimes limited to a termination occurring before the policy has a cash or other surrender value. Larceny-theft: The unlawful taking, carrying, leading or riding away of another person's property. Last Clear Chance Rule: Statutory modification of the contributory negligence law allowing the claimant endangered by his or her own negligence to recover damages from a defendant if the defendant has a last clear chance to avoid the accident but fails to do so. Law of Large Numbers: Concept that the greater the number of exposures, the more closely will actual results approach the probable results expected from an infinite number of exposures