Video Glossary

An act of God is a sudden act of nature like a flood or earthquake, which could not have been prevented. Contrary to popular belief, acts of God are sometimes […]

This refers to the current cost of replacing a lost or damaged item with a similar one in the same condition.

This is a term for another person or company who may be liable if an accident takes place.

An adjuster is a person who investigates and settles losses, usually for an insurance carrier.

An insurance agent is an individual who sells insurance products for only one insurance company, as opposed to a Broker, who deals with many.

This optional coverage provides the broadest possible coverage to protect yourself from loss or damage to your vehicle.

This optional coverage protects against loss or damage from all perils with the exception of those specifically excluded.

This coverage provides protection against financial loss when you are at-fault in car-related injuries or damage to property.

This coverage pays for automobile damage or loss resulting from collision, fire, theft, or other covered perils.

A bailee is a trustworthy person or business that takes the public’s goods under its safekeeping.

Unlike an Agent, a broker is someone who sells insurance products for many different insurance companies, allowing him or her to “shop around” on your behalf.

This covers you for business expenses and loss of income after a fire or other peril.

This is a popular car insurance rating system, which groups cars based on their claims experiences, such as repair costs, injury claims, and frequency of theft.

Co-insurance refers to a penalty you incur when you under-insure your property, requiring you to share a percentage of any losses you may face.

In a vehicle collision, this optional coverage goes beyond basic liability insurance to cover damage to your own vehicle, not just the other party’s.

This optional coverage protects you when vehicle damage is unrelated to collision. It covers things like hail, flood, theft, fire, vandalism, and collisions with animals.

A deductible is the portion of a loss that you are required to pay yourself before your insurance coverage will respond. It can be used to reduce your premiums.

Your driving record is used to describe your driving history, including any accidents or traffic convictions.

This is an amendment to a policy used to add, delete or change coverage.

This coverage, normally needed by professionals and consultants, provides protection against loss from some negligent act, error or omission on your part.

Exclusions are causes and conditions that are NOT covered. They are listed in your policy.

A facility is a pooling method for people unable to get car insurance in the voluntary market. Insurers issue policies, but spread premiums and losses to a central pool.

This is the price that a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, when neither are compelled to sell or buy.

This is a rate provided to a member of an eligible group, such as employees of the same employer, members of the same union, or members of the same professional […]

Hazards are situations that make loss more likely, such as slippery floors, unsanitary conditions, shingled roofs, congested traffic, or unguarded premises.

These are additions made by a tenant, at his own cost, to a building that he is occupying. These become part of the realty and require special insurance consideration.

When you indemnify someone, you absolve them of responsibility for any damages they incur. An insurance policy indemnifies you financially for a loss, and aims to repay you for that […]

A lapse refers to the termination of a policy when you fail to pay your premium.

Liability insurance pays other people if you’ve injured them or damaged their property. It also covers your legal defense and expenses.

When you try to secure a lower insurance rate by misrepresenting your level of risk, this is misrepresentation. This can result in your insurance contract being deemed void.

This term refers to morals or habits that increase the probability of a loss from a peril. The attitude of, “It’s insured, so why worry?” is an example of a […]

This refers to the person or company named in an insurance policy that is protected under that policy. In some cases, more than one entity may be designated as named […]

These are policies that specifically state which perils are protected against, and protect against no others.

Negligence means failure to use the degree of care that an ordinary person of reasonable judgment would use under a given circumstance.

This means a person’s own insurance company pays for financial losses after an accident, regardless of who caused it, and in exchange, the right to sue may be restricted. http://youtu.be/doTScAje0as […]

As opposed to a total loss, a partial loss is one that neither totally destroys the insured property, nor exhausts the amount of insurance.

A peril is a specific event causing loss or damage, such as the damage to buildings caused by fire or windstorm, or damage in a collision between two cars.

This is a generic term indicating actual damage to property.

Your premium is the amount you are required to pay to your insurer periodically in exchange for coverage.

This coverage indemnifies professionals for any losses resulting from malpractice, errors or mistakes on their part in their professional practice.

This is a formal statement you make to an insurance company regarding a loss, in order to give them sufficient information to determine liability.

A renewal is an extension of an insurance policy for an additional period, as the current policy is about to expire.

As opposed to Actual Cash Value, this refers to the cost of replacing property without accounting for depreciation.

This covers your automobile against losses caused by fire, theft, lightning, windstorm, hail or rising water, earthquake, explosion, riot or civil disturbance.

After you are compensated for a loss caused by a third party, this is the legal process by which your insurer seeks to recover the amount it paid you from […]

This coverage protects you against liability for damage to or destruction of the bodies or property of others.

This is a policy that pays for liability losses in excess of those covered in your homeowners’ insurance and auto insurance.

This is a term for an insurance company or group that underwrites or insures a particular risk.

Under this kind of policy, the parties agree on the insured property’s value at the time of issuance.