Insurance Law and Regulation

A requirement that licensed insurance professionals meet ongoing education obligations to stay authorized.

An individual or entity named to receive policy proceeds when a trust is named as beneficiary.

A 1035 exchange lets qualifying life, annuity, and long-term care contracts be replaced without immediate federal income tax.

The legal capacity to understand and enter into an insurance contract or other binding transaction.

An employer-funded trust used in a qualified plan to support post-retirement medical or health-related benefits.

A person or entity that temporarily holds another person's property and is expected to care for it under the storage agreement.

A transfer of real property through a will, and in insurance contexts it affects beneficiary and estate administration handling.

File and use rating laws let insurers put rates into effect after filing them with regulators, without waiting for prior approval.

A policy industry group representing carrier perspectives on insurance regulation.

A professional education institution for insurance and risk professionals.

Business liability insurance protects a company against financial exposure from claims for injuries, property damage, or other legal wrongs.

A licensed representative’s signature that confirms the policy was reviewed and is issued under valid authority.

A shareholder-owned life insurer that writes both participating and nonparticipating policies.

Policy wording that removes a particular situation from coverage or, in some forms, restores coverage by carving something back into an exclusion.

A contract type that a liability policy agrees to treat as covered for certain assumed tort liability obligations.

Situation in which an insurer later accepts an agent's unauthorized act and treats that act as authorized from the beginning.

The intentional and malicious setting of fire, with major implications for insurance fraud detection and non-payment defenses.

This endorsement modifies liability coverage to broaden protection for property damage to property in the insured’s care, custody, or control.

A cancellation provision clause sets when and how a policy can be ended.

Channeling refers to arrangements where provider referrals or privilege rights are restricted to specific clinical networks.

An insurance sales practice where an existing policy is replaced mainly to generate commissions instead of improving coverage.

The right of an insurer that paid more than its fair share of a covered loss to recover the proper share from another insurer covering the same risk.

A legal doctrine that can bar or sharply limit recovery when the injured person also contributed to the loss.

A standardized annual regulatory financial filing used by insurers to report solvency and financial condition.

The protection actually promised by a policy for specified risks, amounts, and conditions.

The point when an insurance policy or coverage period ends unless it is renewed, replaced, or extended.

Broad form cause-of-loss language covers a wider set of named perils in property insurance than a basic form, but is narrower than all-peril or special forms.

A captive agent represents one insurer or insurer group and sells only that carrier's products.

Policy coverage extended to family members who qualify as dependents, with specific eligibility and benefit limits.

A person who reviews insurance risks, records, or medical information in underwriting, claims, or regulatory work.

A transfer of insurance policy rights to a lender or other creditor to secure a debt.

A formal grant of authority from an insurer that allows an agent to act for the company within a defined scope.

An accredited advisor is a professional with recognized exams and training to provide insurance guidance under documented standards.

The Appleton Rule requires insurers doing business in New York to follow New York insurance law and filing requirements.

Broad form personal theft insurance extends named-peril property coverage to include theft-related losses and associated mischief on covered personal property.

Capacity of parties refers to a party's legal ability to enter and be bound by an insurance contract.

The senior state insurance regulator responsible for market oversight, consumer protection, and insurer solvency supervision.

Regulatory valuations used in insurer reporting to represent asset values under statutory standards.

Estoppel can prevent an insurer or policyholder from taking a position that conflicts with earlier words or conduct when the other side reasonably relied on it.

An agreed amount clause sets a fixed insured value or settlement approach that all parties accept in advance.

An attestation clause requires authorized officers to confirm the validity of a contract by signing it.

Conduct that creates legal liability to another person or property, commonly through negligence or contract breach.

Occurrence-basis coverage protects against incidents that happen during the policy period, even if a claim is reported later.

A common disaster clause directs how life-insurance proceeds are paid if the insured and beneficiary die in the same event or the order of death cannot be determined.

Eligibility requirements that must be met before claims, coverage, or policy grants become effective.

An insurance structure owned or managed collectively by participants rather than external shareholders.

The individual or group whom a policy defines as protected for a specific risk.

An insurer's formal decision not to accept a coverage application.

Sworn testimony recorded before a claim or legal proceeding, often used as evidence in disputes involving insurance coverage or claims.

An extended reporting period gives the insured extra time to report claims under a claims-made liability policy after the policy ends.

Uninsured motorists are drivers who carry no applicable auto liability coverage, creating a claim risk for people they injure.

A take-it-or-leave-it policy form where the insurer drafts the terms and the policyholder accepts them as written.

An actuarial pricing convention that can use a younger age than the insured's actual age to set life insurance premiums.

A statutory reserve component established to absorb investment value declines and support solvency.

A legal defense where a party knowingly accepts certain risks through voluntary participation.

A premises-liability doctrine where landowners can be liable for hazards that attract children.

A valuation standard used in insurance claims to determine actual cash value using all reliable, relevant loss evidence.

A property insurance form style that uses a wider named-peril list than a basic policy while remaining narrower than all-peril coverage.

An intermediary who helps clients place insurance coverage and may be authorized to bind certain products on behalf of carriers.

An insurer that participates in a regulatory or market bureau structure for filing, pooling data, or collaborative market administration.

A buy-sell agreement defines how ownership interests transfer after specified life or disability events in a closely held business.

Casualty insurance covers legal liabilities for accidents that cause bodily injury or property damage to others.

The person whose life determines the duration of an insurance interest.

The person or entity seeking payment under an insurance policy after a loss.

The policy rule that states the fixed out-of-pocket amount due at service.

The person or institution that holds a secured claim against insurance proceeds.

A regulatory mortality table used in life insurance pricing, reserves, and nonforfeiture calculations.

Compensatory damages are money awarded to make an injured party whole for actual loss caused by another party's wrongful conduct.

A policy term that defines obligations, exclusions, and events that affect when and how coverage applies.

A policy status or clause that applies only if specified requirements are met.

The legal agreement by which an insurer promises coverage in exchange for premium and compliance by the insured.

Jurisdictional rules requiring an authorized insurer representative’s signature for certain insurance contracts.

The average amount providers in a local market bill for a specific procedure.

Damages are monetary amounts intended to compensate for injury, loss, or financial harm in a legal or insurance claim.

A debris removal clause reimburses reasonable cleanup costs after an insured property loss.

An eligible person tied to the insured or policyholder for coverage, enrollment, or benefit determination.

Disability benefits law refers to state statutes that require or regulate temporary disability benefits for certain non-work-related illnesses or injuries.

A health insurance regulatory concept requiring certain employers to make a qualified HMO option available alongside another health plan offering.

A legal right to use another person's land for a specific purpose, which can affect title, property, and liability insurance analysis.

Entry date into claims made refers to the point when an insured first goes onto claims-made coverage, which affects pricing, maturity, and how later claims are evaluated.

An errors and omissions clause says that an inadvertent administrative mistake should not automatically destroy intended insurance or reinsurance coverage.

A voluntary payment made by an insurer even though the policy may not legally require it.

A policy attachment that removes coverage for a specific condition, hazard, person, or category of loss.

Experimental procedures are treatments or services a health plan considers investigational, unproven, or not medically established enough for routine coverage.

A communication advising that a policy or coverage period is about to end and may need renewal or replacement.

The authority an insurer or agency specifically grants to an insurance agent through a contract, appointment, or direct instruction.

Mandated benefits are coverages that an insurance policy or health plan must include because a law or regulator requires them.

A New York life insurance filing that discloses insurer operating and expense figures for regulatory review.

The illegal insurance practice of denying, restricting, or overpricing coverage based on geographic or demographic bias rather than legitimate risk.

A release document used in the recovery process when subrogation rights are preserved, settled, or impaired.

A statutory wage-replacement benefit for non-work-related disability, sometimes administered through an unemployment insurance system.

The insurance-law principle that parties must be honest and disclose material facts when forming and administering an insurance contract.

In insurance, a warranty is a statement or condition in the contract that must be strictly true or satisfied for coverage to apply.

An international treaty framework that standardizes certain liability rules for international air transport, including limits and claims procedures.

An abandonment clause prevents policyholders from declaring total loss on property that still has recoverable salvage value.

The practice of setting aside assets now to meet known insurance-backed benefit obligations later.

An insurer incorporated outside the host country that is licensed to do business in the jurisdiction.

A trade organization for property and casualty insurers.

A yearly financial filing that shows an insurer's condition, operations, and claim experience.

An appraisal clause lets either party request independent valuation when the parties disagree on the amount of a property loss.