A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

A&H
Accident & health

AAI: 
Accredited Adviser in Insurance, a designation awarded by the Insurance Institute of America to people who have completed a three-semester educational program designed for insurance producers.

Accelerated Benefits
Benefits available in some life insurance policies before death, usually triggered by long-term, catastrophic or terminal illness. Also known as living benefits.

Accident
An event that is unforeseen, unexpected, and unintended.

Accident and Health Combined Ratio 
The sum of the accident and health loss ratio and the accident and health expense ratio.

Accident and Health Expense Ratio
The ratio of accident and health expenses incurred (general expenses, commissions, taxes, licenses, and fees) to premiums earned.

Accident and Health Loss Ratio
The ratio of accident and health incurred claims plus increase in policy reserves to premiums earned. 

Accident Report Form
An accident report form is used to record key information about the accident. 

Accidental Bodily Injury
Physical injury sustained as the result of an accident. 

Accidental Death Benefits
A provision added to a life insurance policy for payment of an additional benefit in case of death that results from an accident.  This provision is often called "double indemnity." 

Account
See policyholder 

Account Analyst
See Administrative Assistant. 

Account Current
An account current is the billing statement an insurance company sends to its producer.

Account Selling
Account selling is trying to handle all of a client's insurance needs, rather than providing for only a portion of those needs.  

Accounts Receivable Insurance
Pays for the cost of reconstructing accounts receivable records that have been damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. Even more important, it covers any payments that cannot be collected because records cannot be reconstructed. 

Accredited Adviser in Insurance
See AAI. 

Accumulation Period
The time during which a person pays money into an annuity contract and builds up a fund to provide a deferred annuity.

ACLI
American Council of Life Insurance 

Actual Cash Value (ACV)
The value of property as figured by determining what it would cost to replace the property (see replacement cost) and then adjusting this replacement cost by subtracting an amount that reflects depreciation. 

Actuary
Someone professionally trained in the technical aspects of insurance and related fields, particularly in the mathematics of insurance (the calculation of premiums, reserves and other values). An actuary uses complex mathematical methods, often with the aid of computers, to analyze past loss data and other statistics and develop systems for determining future premiums

ACV
See actual cash value. 

Adjustable Life Insurance
A type of insurance that allows the policyholder to change the plan of insurance, raise or lower the face amount of the policy, increase or decrease the premium and lengthen or shorten the protection period. 

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)
A mortgage whose rate of interest changes from time to time according to a predetermined index or according to the decisions of its originator. 

Adjusted Cash Flow
Operating cash flow plus cash and short-term investments. 

Adjusted Cash Flow/Benefits Paid
The ratio of adjusted cash flow to total cash benefits paid to policyholders. 

Adjuster
See claims adjuster.

Administrative Assistant
The administrative assistant supports the sales efforts of the producer. Other titles for this position include agency underwriter, insurance placer, customer service representative, marketing specialist, account analyst, and office manager. 

Administrative Services Only (ASO) Agreement: Contract between an insurer (or its subsidiary) and a group employer, eligible group, trustee, or other party, in which the insurer provides certain administrative services. These services may include actuarial support, plan design, claims processing, data recovery and analysis, benefits communications, financial advice, medical care conversions, data preparation for governmental reports, and stop-loss coverage.

Adverse Selection
When people with a very high probability of loss purchase insurance to a greater extent that people with average or below average probabilities of loss. Underwriters' major goal is to avoid adverse selection. 

Age Limits
Ages below and above which an insurance company will not accept applications or renew policies. 

Agency Underwriter
See administrative assistant. 

Agent
An authorized representative of an insurance company who sells and services insurance contracts. See producer, exclusive agent, independent agent. 

Aggregate Exposure, Gross
Total outstanding insured principal and interest. 

Aggregate Exposure, Net
Gross aggregate exposure less exposure ceded to reinsures. 

Aggregate Indemnity
The maximum amount that may be collected for any disability, or period of disability, under an insurance policy.

All-Risks
"All Risks" property policies, often called "special" policies, cover any loss unless it is caused by an excluded peril listed in the policy. 

ALM
Asset-liability management 

Alternate Delivery System
Health services that are more cost-effective than inpatient, acute-care hospitals, such as skilled and intermediary nursing facilities, hospice programs, and in-home services. 

Alternate Settlement Option
An option a mortgage insurer can exercise in settling a claim in which it pays the entire amount of the claim, including applicable legal, foreclosure, and repossession expenses, generally before the home goes to foreclosure. The insurer exercising this option has no possibility of recovery even if the subsequent sale of the home yields proceeds in excess of the exposure of the lender or investor. 

Ambulatory Care
Medical services provided on an outpatient (non-hospitalized) basis. Services may include diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation. 

Amendment
Document changing the provisions of an insurance contract signed jointly by the insurer and the policyholder.

AMT
Alternative minimum tax  

Annuitant
The person entitled to receive annuity payments or who now receives them. 

Annuities
Annuities are contracts sold by life insurance companies (the seller must be a licensed insurance entity in your state). In their simplest form, you pay a sum of money (either a lump sum or a series of payments) and the insurance company makes periodic payments to you, beginning on the date in your contract and continuing for the rest of your life. The earnings on your annuity payments are not taxable during the accumulation phase of your agreement; the annuity payments are taxable as income when you receive them permit you to place your payments in professionally managed funds, similar to mutual funds, and to control how these payments are invested during the life of your contract. Unlike mutual funds, variable annuities have insurance provisions and guarantees to preserve the value of the principal you pay into the annuity. They also generally carry higher fees than mutual funds. Annuities may entail extensive taxation and estate issues, and annuity buyers should make sure they’re aware of such issues. 

Annuity Certain
A contract that provides an income for a specified number of years, regardless of life or death. 

Annuity Consideration
The payment, or one of the regular periodic payments, an annuitant makes for an annuity.

Application
A statement of information made by someone applying for insurance. The information gathered helps the insurance company assess whether the risk presented by the applicant is acceptable to underwriters. 

Approval
Signifies the legal acceptance of forms by a state when policy information is filed; Signifies the insurer's acceptance of risks as set forth in an application for insurance (as originally made or modified by the insurer); or signifies the acceptance of a request from an applicant or policyholder for new insurance, reinstatement of a terminated policy, a policy loan, or other request.

ARMs
Adjustable rate mortgages 

Assigned Risk Plans
See automobile insurance plans

Assignment
The legal transfer of one person's interest in an insurance policy to another person. 

Association Group
A group formed from members of a trade or professional association for insurance under one master health insurance contract.

Audit
During an audit, members of the home office staff underwriting department examine files to see whether the underwriting guidelines are being followed. Also see premium auditor. 

Audited Premium
See premium auditor. 

Auto Liability
Pays for damages that you cause to other people and their property. If you cause an accident and you bang up your car or yourself, your auto liability insurance will not pay for your medical bills or the repairs to your car. Auto medical payments coverage would.) But it will pay for the other guy’s, up to the limits of your policy. Without the coverage, your assets would be subject to seizure to pay the medical bills, car repairs and other damages that you caused in an accident. Once the insurance company pays out the limits of your policy, you’re liable for the rest, which is why it’s advisable to purchase higher limits than what your state requires. Auto liability coverage has three parts: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. Limits for liability are usually written like "20/40/10." That means a policy will pay bodily injury losses up to $20,000 per person, and up to $40,000 per accident (if more than one person was hurt). It will also pay property damage losses up to $10,000 per accident. 

Auto Medical Payments
If you cause an accident, the coverage works like this: Auto liability coverage pays the bodily injury and property damage losses of the other person. Collision coverage pays for repairs to your own vehicle.  Auto medical payments coverage pays medical and funeral expenses for you and your passengers. If you already have health and disability insurance, the coverage may be redundant. 

Auto Physical Damage Coverage
Insures against loss resulting from damage to an auto owned by the insured; also provides coverage if the car is stolen. 

Automatic Premium Loan
A provision in a life insurance policy that any premium not paid by the end of the grace period (usually 31 days) is automatically paid by a policy loan if there is sufficient cash value. 

Automobile Insurance Plans
Formerly known as assigned risk plans--are residual market programs providing auto insurance. See Residual Market. 

AVR
Asset valuation reserve