General Terms




Adjuster A person who evaluates damage and recommends how much the insurance company should pay.
Agent A person appointed by the insurance company to represent, sell and service insurance policies.
Cancellation Termination of a policy before its normal expiration date.
Claim A request for payment on an insured loss.
Declarations Page ("Dec Page") The page that shows your premium and coverages. Instead of sending you a new policy each year, the insurance company generally sends only a new dec page.
Endorsement Amendment to a policy used to add, change or delete coverage.
Fraud Filing a false claim in order to collect money not entitled to the claimant or providing false information in an application for insurance.
Insured The person and/or property covered by an insurance policy.
Insurer The company that provides insurance.
Lapse The termination of an insurance policy as a result of failure to pay the premium.
Loss The event or occurrence of damage or injuries.
Negligence The failure to exercise the care that an ordinary prudent person would exercise: either doing that which a prudent person would not do, or failing to do that which a prudent person would do.
Premium The amount you pay for insurance.
Settlement The amount you are paid by the insurance company as payment for your loss.
Subrogation When an insurer has acquired the right to recover money from a third party.
Underwriting The insurance company's process for determining whom it will insure.