Insurance term origin

The origin of the word "insurance" dates back to the 16th century. The term is a variation of the Anglo and French words ensurance or ensure. Ensure translates literally to "make sure or safe". The word assurance was another variation of insurance and was used during this same period.
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Diversity

DiversityInc Magazine's Top 50 Companies for Diversity is compiled annually. Companies making the list demonstrate diversity strengths in hiring, training, partnerships and executive involvement in diversity initiatives. Bank of America was number one the latest list. Among insurance companies, Prudential Financial was 24th and Allstate 40th.
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U.S. Insurance News

U.S. Insurance News provides timely insurance news, updates, analysis, and profiles through daily print and digital editions as well as online at USInsuranceNews.com. U.S. Insurance News provides top-quality news and insurance products and services to more than 130,000 industry decision makers, agents, managers and executives each month. U.S. Insurance News was established in 1998.
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Insurance crossword

Take a break and play the Insurance crossword. The website Crossword-Puzzles.ws offers a variety of theme-based crossword puzzles, including one for insurance. Work against the clock to identify all of the listed insurance terms in the 20 by 20 puzzle. Try the game at crossword-puzzles.ws/business/insurance/insurance.htm.
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Earned premium

In the insurance business, earned premium refers to the amount of premium that as been paid for in advance that has been "earned" by virtue of the fact that time has passed without any claims or losses. For example, a two-year term life insurance policy that has been paid in advance and is one year old with no claims would have one-year's worth of earned premium.
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Micro-insurance

Micro-insurance is low-premium insurance with low caps or coverage limits. Policies may cover health, property, disability and crops. Micro-insurance is usually designed to serve low-income people and businesses not served by typical commercial insurance companies. Several new and existing insurance companies are selling micro-insurance products, mostly in developing countries of the world.
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ACORD

ACORD is a nonprofit association whose mission is to facilitate the development and use of standards for the insurance and financial services industries. ACORD members include the majority of the top life and annuity carriers, property and casualty carriers, and reinsurers. Visit ACORD at Acord.org.
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Pet insurance

The pet industry in the United States accounts for over $34 billion in annual expenditures. Vets offer sophisticated and expensive treatments for pets that were once reserved for humans. Industry surveys estimate about 5% of American pet owners have pet insurance, which cover expensive procedures, medications and burial. Pet insurance costs roughly $2,000 to $6,000 over the life of an average pet.
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The Home Insurance Building

The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois was the world's tallest building from 1885 to 1905. The building is considered to be the first modern skyscraper due to its steel frame construction versus stone material. The original ten-story building rose to a height of 138 feet. Two additional floors added in 1890. The building was demolished in 1931.
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Liberty Mutual

The Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association, the forerunner of Liberty Mutual Insurance, began operation in 1912. Liberty Mutual sold its first auto insurance policy in 1917 and by 1937 was writing insurance nationally. In 1957, Liberty's research division introduced prototype cars that featured headrests and safety belts. Liberty Mutual is among the nation's largest insurance organizations.
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures bank deposits for up to $100,000. The FDIC is an independent agency of the federal government created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. No depositor has lost a single penny of insured funds as a result of a failure since the start of FDIC insurance in 1934.
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American Association of Insurance Management Consultants

The American Association of Insurance Management Consultants was founded in 1978. AAIMC serves members in North America with at least three years of management consulting, including CPCU's, CIC's, CLU's, AAI's, ARM's, CPA's, MBA's, PhD's and attorneys. The association provides a medium for exchange, professional standards, as well as conferences, seminars and newsletters. Visit AAIMC at aaimco.com.
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Actuaries

The primary role of an actuary is to analyze and review data in order to forecast risk, liability and financial benefit. According to the Bureau of Labor's Occupational Outlook, employment of actuaries is expected to outpace the insurance industry over the next ten years, with significant job growth coming from other industries such as health care and consulting firms.
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Insurance company for fraud

An Alabama women was awarded a staggering $1.62 billion against Texas-based Southwestern Life Insurance Company for fraud. An agent for Southwestern continued collecting life insurance premiums six years after the woman's policy lapsed. Southwestern and the agent were each responsible for $810 million in punitive damages and $10 million compensatory damages from the 1995 lawsuit.
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Insurance company for fraud

An Alabama women was awarded a staggering $1.62 billion against Texas-based Southwestern Life Insurance Company for fraud. An agent for Southwestern continued collecting life insurance premiums six years after the woman's policy lapsed. Southwestern and the agent were each responsible for $810 million in punitive damages and $10 million compensatory damages from the 1995 lawsuit.
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Health insurance premium increases

Health insurance premium increases in the U.S. have outpaced the overall inflation rate by at least a factor of two. Health insurance premiums have risen 78% since 2000 versus wage increases of 20%. Industry experts attribute the rise to weakness in health care competition, rapid use of new technologies, administrative costs, ambiguous cost management, and market power of health care providers.
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Binders

A binder allows an insurance agent to issue a temporary insurance contract until the permanent policy is issued. Binders are usually based upon a quote or verbal agreement between the agent and customer. The temporary insurance covers the period of time to complete underwriting and issuance of the insurance policy.
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Deductible amount

The deductible amount on your homeowners insurance is the amount you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim. The higher your deductible, the less premium you pay. If you can afford to raise your deductible to $1,000 from the usual $500, you may save as much as 25% off your insurance premium.
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Auto insurance premiums

Auto insurance premiums tend to be higher in areas of high traffic density, increased likelihood of theft and vandalism, and greater incidence of insurance fraud. According to data supplied by Runzheimer International as published on the Insurance Information Institute's website, the cities Detroit, Philadelphia, Newark and Los Angeles compiled the highest annual auto insurance premiums.
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McCarran-Ferguson

Antitrust laws prohibit trade practices that result in cartels or monopolies. The insurance industry currently operates with limited antitrust exemption. The McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 allows insurers to share and pool loss information so they are better able to calculate rates and premiums. McCarran-Ferguson became the subject of insurance industry reform in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
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Tort law

Tort law is the basis for liability in the United States. Tort law provides people with the right to compensation when another person harms their legally protected interests. Tort law has been the subject of reform since the 1980s when civil litigation emerged as a national political issue, typified by the McDonald's coffee case. Since then, most tort reforms have taken place at the state level.
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Insurance fraud

Insurance fraud accounts for about 10 percent of insurance industry loss expenses, according to estimates published by The Insurance Information Institute. The most common occurrence of insurance fraud is inflating the cost of an insurance claim. Most states have established fraud bureaus to address insurance fraud. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud is a national anti-fraud alliance.
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INo-fault insurance

The concept of "no-fault" insurance describes a system that requires drivers to carry insurance for their own protection while placing limitations on their ability to sue other drivers for damages. No-fault insurance was designed to reduce litigation and civil lawsuits, as well as lower auto insurance premiums. Massachusetts was the first of thirteen states to pass no-fault auto insurance laws.
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Social security

The long-term viability of the social security system is facing serious issues. People are living longer, the first baby boomers are nearing retirement, and the birth rate is low. The result is that the worker-to-beneficiary ratio has fallen from 16.5-to-1 in 1950 to 3.3-to-1 today. At this rate there will not be enough workers to pay scheduled social security benefits at current tax rates.
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Wildfires

A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wild land areas. An average of five million acres burn from wildfires every year in the United States causing millions of dollars in damage. Four out of every five wildfires are caused by human carelessness or arson. The majority of wildfires in the United States take place in the Western and mountain states.
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Gramm-Leach-Bliley

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 allowed banks to sell financial services and insurance-related products, a provision that was removed after the 1929 stock market crash. Despite some industry reservation, bank sales of insurance products and services have grown significantly since 1999, with no adverse consolidation or concentration in the financial industry.
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Insurance losses from fire

Costs of insurance losses from fire far exceed losses from all other categories of "natural" catastrophes combined. According to national statistics, one in every four fires in the United States is intentionally set. About 84 percent of all confirmed arson cases go unsolved. Nearly half of the people arrested for arson are under the age of 18.
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Under-insured

A recent survey by Marshall and Swift found nearly 58% of Americans are under-insured for rebuilding their homes. Typical polices cover about 80% of rebuilding costs. Take the following steps to reduce under-insured risk: understand your home's current replacement costs, obtain an extended replacement cost policy for above-limit protection, and add an inflation guard endorsement to your policy.
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Reward loyalty

Insurance companies reward loyalty. If you have stayed with a company for several years, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder. Some insurers will reduce their premiums by five percent if you stay with them for three to five years, and by ten percent if you remain a policyholder for six years or more.
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Seat-belts

Over 80% of American automobile passengers are wearing seat-belts. This according to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Among all states, Washington State recorded the highest seat-belt usage at 96.3%. Wyoming compiled the lowest seat-belt usage at 63.5%.
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Discounts

Insurance companies offer discounts on homeowner insurance premiums for such things as: impact-resistant or noncombustible roof; consecutive claim-free years; additional policies such as auto coverage; full replacement cost coverage; senior citizen homeowner; burglar, fire, and smoke alarm systems; sprinkler systems; fire extinguishers and home security devices.
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