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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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Contributors in Insurance

Insurance > Life insurance

activities of daily living

Insurance; Life insurance

Bathing, preparing and eating meals, moving from room to room, getting into and out of beds or chairs, dressing, using a toilet.

actual cash value

Insurance; Life insurance

Cost of replacing damaged or destroyed property with comparable new property, minus depreciation and obsolescence. For example, a 10-year-old sofa will not be replaced at current ...

actuary

Insurance; Life insurance

A specialist in the mathematics of insurance who calculates rates, reserves, dividends and other statistics. (Americanism: In most other countries the individual is known as ...

adjustable rate

Insurance; Life insurance

An interest rate that changes, based on changes in a published market-rate index.

adjuster

Insurance; Life insurance

A representative of the insurer who seeks to determine the extent of the insurer's liability for loss when a claim is submitted.

admitted assets

Insurance; Life insurance

Assets permitted by state law to be included in an insurance company's annual statement. These assets are an important factor when regulators measure insurance company solvency. ...

agent

Insurance; Life insurance

individual who sells and services insurance policies in either of two classifications: 1. Independent agent represents at least two insurance companies and (at least in theory) ...