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Insurance

Insurance is a promise of compensation for specific potential future losses in exchange for a periodic payment. Insurance is designed to protect the financial well-being of an individual, company or other entity in the case of unexpected loss. Some forms of insurance are required by law, while others are optional. Agreeing to the terms of an insurance policy creates a contract between the insured and the insurer. In exchange for payments from the insured (called premiums), the insurer agrees to pay the policy holder a sum of money upon the occurrence of a specific event. In most cases, the policy holder pays part of the loss (called the deductible), and the insurer pays the rest. Examples include car insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, and business insurance.

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Insurance > Life insurance

insurance regulatory information system

Insurance; Life insurance

Introduced by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 1974 to identify insurance companies that might require further regulatory review.

laddering

Insurance; Life insurance

Purchasing bond investments that mature at different time intervals.

lapse ratio

Insurance; Life insurance

The ratio of the number of life insurance policies that lapsed within a given period to the number in force at the beginning of that period.

least expensive alternative treatment

Insurance; Life insurance

The amount an insurance company will pay based on its determination of cost for a particular procedure.

leverage or capitalization

Insurance; Life insurance

Measures the exposure of a company's surplus to various operating and financial practices. A highly leveraged, or poorly capitalized, company can show a high return on surplus, ...

liability

Insurance; Life insurance

Broadly, any legally enforceable obligation. The term is most commonly used in a pecuniary sense.

liability insurance

Insurance; Life insurance

Insurance that pays and renders service on behalf of an insured for loss arising out of his responsibility, due to negligence, to others imposed by law or assumed by contract.