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

E&O:
Errors and omissions

Earned Premium:
Portion of a premium for which protection has already been provided by the insurer.

Earnings Adequacy Ratio:
Standard & Poor's risk-adjusted measure of earnings performance. 

Earthquake Insurance:
Earthquake policies are similar to regular homeowner's policies but without the liability coverage. You choose a dollar ceiling for the dwelling coverage, and a percentage of this ceiling is then applied to coverage's for personal property and additional living expenses (hotel expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable). Premiums for these policies are usually rather steep in the places where you would need to buy one. Until recently, the only place Californians could buy the coverage was from the California Earthquake Authority, which offered skimpy coverage. But the market is opening up again and some other companies are offering old-fashioned policies with better coverage (at higher rates, of course). 

EBIT:
Earnings before interest and taxes 

EBITDA:
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization 

Effective Date:
Date when insurance coverage begins. 

Eligibility Date:
Date when a member of an insured group applies for insurance. 

Eligibility Period:
Time following the eligibility date (usually 31 days) during which a member of a group may apply for insurance without evidence of insurability. 

Eligible Employees:
Employees who meet the eligibility requirements for insurance set forth in a group policy.

Elimination Period:
Days at the beginning of a period of disability when no benefits are paid. 

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA): Federal law that affects pension and profit-sharing plans. Among other provisions, this law specifies a published summary plan must be distributed to participants within 120 days after adoption of the plan and within 90 days after an employee becomes a participant. The law requires that a summary plan description be issued every 5 years. 

Endowment:
Life insurance payable to the policyholder if living, on the maturity date stated in the policy, or to a beneficiary if the insured dies before that date. 

Enrollment Card:
Document signed by an eligible person indicating a desire to participate in a group insurance plan. The document or card authorizes an employer to deduct contributions from an employee's pay. If life and accidental death and dismemberment coverage are involved, the card usually includes the beneficiary's name and relationship. 

Equity Assets: Common stock, real estate, and all other miscellaneous invested assets.

Equity Assets/Capita:
Common stock, real estate, and miscellaneous invested assets as a percentage of statutory capital. 

Evidence of Insurability:
A statement or proof of physical condition and/or other factual information affecting a person's eligibility for insurance. In group insurance, evidence of insurability is required only in specific situations: when a person fails to enroll during the open enrollment period; when a person applies for reinstatement after having previously withdrawn from the plan when receiving an overall maximum benefit; or when a person applies for excess amounts of group life or disability insurance. 

Excess of Loss Reinsurance:
Reinsurance wherein the insurer cedes liabilities, premiums, and losses on a nonproportional basis above the insurer's net retention of risk.

Exclusions (exceptions):
Conditions or circumstances, listed in the policy, for which the insurer will not provide benefits. 

Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPO):
Form of managed care in which participants are reimbursed only for care received from affiliated providers. 

Expense Ratio:
The sum of general insurance expenses, direct commissions, and net commissions and expense allowances on reinsurance assumed and ceded, as a percentage of net premiums and annuity and fund deposits. 

Experience:
Relationship, usually expressed as a percent or ratio, of claims to premiums for a stated period. 

Experience Rating:
Process of determining the premium rate for a group based wholly or partially on that risk's experience. 

Experience Refund:
Amount returned by an insurer to a group policyholder when the financial experience of a particular group (or class to which the group belongs) has been more favorable than anticipated.

Exposure In Force:
Total principal and interest obligations currently outstanding under policies to date.

Extended Term Insurance:
A form of insurance available as a non-forfeiture option. It provides the original amount of insurance for a limited period of time.