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The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is one of the largest New York based life insurance companies

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. An insurer is a company selling the insurance. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... MetLife, Inc. ... This article is about the state. ... Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individuals or individuals death. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... For non-business risks, see risk or the disambiguation page risk analysis. ... In finance, a hedge is an investment that is taken out specifically to reduce or cancel out the risk in another investment. ... For the Parker Brothers board game, see Risk (game) For other uses, see Risk (disambiguation). ... For non-business risks, see risk or the disambiguation page risk analysis. ...

Principles of insurance

Financial market participants

Investors Hedge funds Private equity Venture capital There are two basic financial market participant catagories, Investor vs. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... An investor is any party that makes an investment. ... A hedge fund is a private investment fund that charges a performance fee and a management fee. ... Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. ... Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ...

Speculators speculation Speculation is the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, commodities, futures, currencies, collectibles, real estate, or any valuable thing to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income - dividends, rent etc. ... Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ...

Institutional investors Banks Collective investment schemes Credit Unions Insurance companies Investment banks Pension funds Prime Brokers Trusts An institutional investor is an investor who is an institution like a bank, insurance fund, retirement fund, or mutual fund manager. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Funds financial information A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money with a large number of people to participate in a wider range of investments that may not be feasible for an individual investor hence many investors share the costs of doing so. ... A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. ... Investment banks help companies and governments (or their agencies) raise money by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets (both equity and debt). ... A pension (also known as superannuation) is a retirement plan intended to provide a person with a secure income for life. ... Prime Brokerage is the generic name for a bundled package of services offered by investment banks to hedge funds. ... A trust company is normally owned by one of three types of structures; an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specialize in being a trustee of various kinds of trusts, and managing estates. ...

Finance series Financial market Participants Corporate finance Personal finance Public finance Banks and Banking Financial regulation The field of finance refers to the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interelated. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... There are two basic financial market participant catagories, Investor vs. ... Domestic credit to private sector in 2005 Corporate finance is an area of finance dealing with the financial decisions corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. ... Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Financial supervision is government supervision of financial institutions by regulators. ...

v • d • e

Commercially insurable risks typically share seven common characteristics.^[1]

1. A large number of homogeneous exposure units. The vast majority of insurance policies are provided for individual members of very large classes. Automobile insurance, for example, covered about 175 million automobiles in the United States in 2004.^[2] The existence of a large number of homogeneous exposure units allows insurers to benefit from the so-called “law of large numbers,” which in effect states that as the number of exposure units increases, the actual results are increasingly likely to become close to expected results. There are exceptions to this criterion. Lloyd's of London is famous for insuring the life or health of actors, actresses and sports figures. Satellite Launch insurance covers events that are infrequent. Large commercial property policies may insure exceptional properties for which there are no ‘homogeneous’ exposure units. Despite failing on this criterion, many exposures like these are generally considered to be insurable.
2. Definite Loss. The event that gives rise to the loss that is subject to insurance should, at least in principle, take place at a known time, in a known place, and from a known cause. The classic example is death of an insured on a life insurance policy. Fire, automobile accidents, and worker injuries may all easily meet this criterion. Other types of losses may only be definite in theory. Occupational disease, for instance, may involve prolonged exposure to injurious conditions where no specific time, place or cause is identifiable. Ideally, the time, place and cause of a loss should be clear enough that a reasonable person, with sufficient information, could objectively verify all three elements.
3. Accidental Loss. The event that constitutes the trigger of a claim should be fortuitous, or at least outside the control of the beneficiary of the insurance. The loss should be ‘pure,’ in the sense that it results from an event for which there is only the opportunity for cost. Events that contain speculative elements, such as ordinary business risks, are generally not considered insurable.
4. Large Loss. The size of the loss must be meaningful from the perspective of the insured. Insurance premiums need to cover both the expected cost of losses, plus the cost of issuing and administering the policy, adjusting losses, and supplying the capital needed to reasonably assure that the insurer will be able to pay claims. For small losses these latter costs may be several times the size of the expected cost of losses. There is little point in paying such costs unless the protection offered has real value to a buyer.
5. Affordable Premium. If the likelihood of an insured event is so high, or the cost of the event so large, that the resulting premium is large relative to the amount of protection offered, it is not likely that anyone will buy insurance, even if on offer. Further, as the accounting profession formally recognizes in financial accounting standards, the premium cannot be so large that there is not a reasonable chance of a significant loss to the insurer. If there is no such chance of loss, the transaction may have the form of insurance, but not the substance. (See the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board standard number 113)
6. Calculable Loss. There are two elements that must be at least estimable, if not formally calculable: the probability of loss, and the attendant cost. Probability of loss is generally an empirical exercise, while cost has more to do with the ability of a reasonable person in possession of a copy of the insurance policy and a proof of loss associated with a claim presented under that policy to make a reasonably definite and objective evaluation of the amount of the loss recoverable as a result of the claim.
7. Limited risk of catastrophically large losses. The essential risk is often aggregation. If the same event can cause losses to numerous policyholders of the same insurer, the ability of that insurer to issue policies becomes constrained, not by factors surrounding the individual characteristics of a given policyholder, but by the factors surrounding the sum of all policyholders so exposed. Typically, insurers prefer to limit their exposure to a loss from a single event to some small portion of their capital base, on the order of 5 percent. Where the loss can be aggregated, or an individual policy could produce exceptionally large claims, the capital constraint will restrict an insurers appetite for additional policyholders. The classic example is earthquake insurance, where the ability of an underwriter to issue a new policy depends on the number and size of the policies that it has already underwritten. Wind insurance in hurricane zones, particularly along coast lines, is another example of this phenomenon. In extreme cases, the aggregation can affect the entire industry, since the combined capital of insurers and reinsurers can be small compared to the needs of potential policyholders in areas exposed to aggregation risk. In commercial fire insurance it is possible to find single properties whose total exposed value is well in excess of any individual insurer’s capital constraint. Such properties are generally shared among several insurers, or are insured by a single insurer who syndicates the risk into the reinsurance market.

// The law of large numbers (LLN) is any of several theorems in probability. ... It has been suggested that Council of Lloyds be merged into this article or section. ... The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private, non-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (US GAAP). ... This article is a list of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) pronouncements, including Statements, Concepts Statements, Interpretations, and Technical Bulletins, which are issued to provide rules and guidelines in preparing, presenting, and reporting financial statements within the United States. ... In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 (per cent meaning per hundred). It is often denoted using the percent sign, %. For example, 45% (read as forty-five percent) is equal to 45 / 100, or 0. ... Reinsurance is a means by which an insurance company can protect itself against the risk of losses with other insurance companies. ...

Indemnification

Main article: Indemnity

The technical definition of "indemnity" means to make whole again. There are two types of insurance contracts; 1) an "indemnity" policy and 2) a "pay on behalf" or "on behalf of"^[3] policy. The difference is significant on paper, but rarely material in practice. Look up Indemnity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

An "indemnity" policy will never pay claims until the insured has paid out of pocket to some third party; i.e. a visitor to your home slips on a floor that you left wet and sues you for $10,000 and wins. Under an "indemnity" policy the homeowner would have to come up with the $10,000 to pay for the visitors fall and then would be "indemnified" by the insurance carrier for the out of pocket costs (the $10,000)^[4].

Under the same situation, a "pay on behalf" policy, the insurance carrier would pay the claim and the insured (the homeowner) would not be out of pocket for anything. Most modern liability insurance is written on the basis of "pay on behalf" language^[5].

An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the 'insured' party once risk is assumed by an 'insurer', the insuring party, by means of a contract, called an insurance 'policy'. Generally, an insurance contract includes, at a minimum, the following elements: the parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be "indemnified" against the loss events covered in the policy. A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce. ... Look up Indemnity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a 'claim' against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the 'premium'. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims—in theory for a relatively few claimants—and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (i.e., reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit. At TSG, overhead, overhead cost or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of 8-5 non salary widgets. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Insurer’s business model

Profit = earned premium + investment income - incurred loss - underwriting expenses. This article should belong in one or more categories. ...

Insurers make money in two ways: (1) through underwriting, the process by which insurers select the risks to insure and decide how much in premiums to charge for accepting those risks and (2) by investing the premiums they collect from insureds. Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider (bank, insurer, investment house) uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products like equity capital, insurance, mortgage or credit to a customer. ...

The most difficult aspect of the insurance business is the underwriting of policies. Using a wide assortment of data, insurers predict the likelihood that a claim will be made against their policies and price products accordingly. To this end, insurers use actuarial science to quantify the risks they are willing to assume and the premium they will charge to assume them. Data is analyzed to fairly accurately project the rate of future claims based on a given risk. Actuarial science uses statistics and probability to analyze the risks associated with the range of perils covered, and these scientific principles are used to determine an insurer's overall exposure. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected and the investment gains thereon minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. Of course, from the insurer's perspective, some policies are winners (i.e., the insurer pays out less in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income) and some are losers (i.e., the insurer pays out more in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income). Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider (bank, insurer, investment house) uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products like equity capital, insurance, mortgage or credit to a customer. ... 2003 US mortality (life) table, Table 1, Page 1 Actuarial science applies mathematical and statistical methods to finance and insurance, particularly to the assessment of risk. ... This article is about the field of statistics. ... Probability is the likelihood or chance that something is the case or will happen. ... Underwriting profit is a term used in the insurance industry. ...

An insurer's underwriting performance is measured in its combined ratio. The loss ratio (incurred losses and loss-adjustment expenses divided by net earned premium) is added to the expense ratio (underwriting expenses divided by net premium written) to determine the company's combined ratio. The combined ratio is a reflection of the company's overall underwriting profitability. A combined ratio of less than 100 percent indicates underwriting profitability, while anything over 100 indicates an underwriting loss. Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider (bank, insurer, investment house) uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products like equity capital, insurance, mortgage or credit to a customer. ...

Insurance companies also earn investment profits on “float”. “Float” or available reserve is the amount of money, at hand at any given moment, that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not been paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest on them until claims are paid out. Invest redirects here. ...

In the United States, the underwriting loss of property and casualty insurance companies was $142.3 billion in the five years ending 2003. But overall profit for the same period was $68.4 billion, as the result of float. Some insurance industry insiders, most notably Hank Greenberg, do not believe that it is forever possible to sustain a profit from float without an underwriting profit as well, but this opinion is not universally held. Naturally, the “float” method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards. So a poor economy generally means high insurance premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the "underwriting" or insurance cycle. ^[6] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Casualty insurance is a broad category of insurance that includes almost any coverage that is not related to life, health, or property. ... Maurice R. Hank Greenberg (born May 4, 1925 in New York City) is an American businessman and former chairman and CEO of American International Group (AIG), the worlds largest insurance and financial services corporation. ... “The tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the underwriting or insurance cycle. ...

Property and casualty insurers currently make the most money from their auto insurance line of business. Generally better statistics are available on auto losses and underwriting on this line of business has benefited greatly from advances in computing. Additionally, property losses in the US, due to natural catastrophes, have exacerbated this trend. United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ...

Finally, claims and loss handling is the materialized utility of insurance. In managing the claims-handling function, insurers seek to balance the elements of customer satisfaction, administrative handling expenses, and claims overpayment leakages. As part of this balancing act, fraudulent insurance practices are a major business risk that must be managed and overcome. Insurance fraud or false insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the intent to defraud an insurance company. ...

History of insurance

Main article: History of insurance

In some sense we can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. Should the same thing happen to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. This type of insurance has survived to the present day in some countries where modern money economy with its financial instruments is not widespread (for example countries in the territory of the former Soviet Union).

Turning to insurance in the modern sense (i.e., insurance in a modern money economy, in which insurance is part of the financial sphere), early methods of transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively. Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel's capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC, and practiced by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the lender's guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen. Babylonia was a state in southern Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age. ... The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. ... A millennium (pl. ... An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... A merchant making up the account by Shiatsus Hokusai Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit. ...

Achaemenian monarchs were the first to insure their people and made it official by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. The insurance tradition was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year); the heads of different ethnic groups as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.

The purpose of registering was that whenever the person who presented the gift registered by the court was in trouble, the monarch and the court would help him. Jahez, a historian and writer, writes in one of his books on ancient Iran: "[W]henever the owner of the present is in trouble or wants to construct a building, set up a feast, have his children married, etc. the one in charge of this in the court would check the registration. If the registered amount exceeded 10,000 Derrik, he or she would receive an amount of twice as much."[1]

A thousand years later, the inhabitants of Rhodes invented the concept of the 'general average'. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage. This article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. ... The law of general average is a legal principle of maritime law according to which all parties in a sea venture proportionally share any losses resulting from a voluntary sacrifice of part of the ship or cargo to save the whole in an emergency. ...

The Greeks and Romans introduced the origins of health and life insurance c. 600 AD when they organized guilds called "benevolent societies" which cared for the families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the Middle Ages served a similar purpose. The Talmud deals with several aspects of insuring goods. Before insurance was established in the late 17th century, "friendly societies" existed in England, in which people donated amounts of money to a general sum that could be used for emergencies. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other uses, see Family (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Funeral (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ... A guild is an association of craftspeople in a particular trade. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... A good in economics is any physical object (natural or man-made) or service that, upon consumption, increases utility, and therefore can be sold at a price in a market. ...

Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, a separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance. Insurance became far more sophisticated in post-Renaissance Europe, and specialized varieties developed. For other uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Toward the end of the seventeenth century, London's growing importance as a centre for trade increased demand for marine insurance. In the late 1680s, Mr. Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house that became a popular haunt of ship owners, merchants, and ships’ captains, and thereby a reliable source of the latest shipping news. It became the meeting place for parties wishing to insure cargoes and ships, and those willing to underwrite such ventures. Today, Lloyd's of London remains the leading market (note that it is not an insurance company) for marine and other specialist types of insurance, but it works rather differently than the more familiar kinds of insurance. It has been suggested that Council of Lloyds be merged into this article or section. ...

Insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, which in 1666 devoured 13,200 houses. In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England's first fire insurance company, "The Fire Office," to insure brick and frame homes. Detail of painting from 1666 of the Great Fire of London by an unknown artist, depicting the fire as it would have appeared on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf. ... Nicholas Barbon (c. ...

The first insurance company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732. Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize and make standard the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin's company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. Not only did his company warn against certain fire hazards, it refused to insure certain buildings where the risk of fire was too great, such as all wooden houses. In the United States, regulation of the insurance industry is highly Balkanized, with primary responsibility assumed by individual state insurance departments. Whereas insurance markets have become centralized nationally and internationally, state insurance commissioners operate individually, though at times in concert through a national insurance commissioners' organization. In recent years, some have called for a dual state and federal regulatory system for insurance similar to that which oversees state banks and national banks. Nickname: Motto: Aedes Mores Juraque Curat (She cares for her temples, customs, and rights) Location of Charleston in South Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83... This article is about the American political figure. ... For other uses, see Fire (disambiguation). ... Perpetual insurance is a type of homeowners insurance policy written to have no term, or date, when the policy expires. ... Balkanization is a geopolitical term originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region into smaller regions that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which seeks to organize the regulatory and supervisory efforts of the state Insurance Commissioners around the United States. ...

Types of insurance

Any risk that can be quantified can potentially be insured. Specific kinds of risk that may give rise to claims are known as "perils". An insurance policy will set out in detail which perils are covered by the policy and which are not. Below are (non-exhaustive) lists of the many different types of insurance that exist. A single policy may cover risks in one or more of the categories set forth below. For example, auto insurance would typically cover both property risk (covering the risk of theft or damage to the car) and liability risk (covering legal claims from causing an accident). A homeowner's insurance policy in the U.S. typically includes property insurance covering damage to the home and the owner's belongings, liability insurance covering certain legal claims against the owner, and even a small amount of health insurance for medical expenses of guests who are injured on the owner's property. Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowners insurance (often abbreviated in the real estate industry as HOI), is the type of property insurance that covers private homes. ...

Business insurance can be any kind of insurance that protects businesses against risks. Some principal subtypes of business insurance are (a) the various kinds of professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance, which are discussed below under that name; and (b) the business owners policy (BOP), which bundles into one policy many of the kinds of coverage that a business owner needs, in a way analogous to how homeowners insurance bundles the coverages that a homeowner needs.^[7] Business Insurance includes a wide variety of options can be used to manage business risks. ...

Health

Main articles: Health insurance and Dental insurance

Almost all developed countries have government-supplied insurance for health

Health insurance policies will often cover the cost of private medical treatments if the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (NHS) or other publicly-funded health programs do not pay for them. It will often result in quicker health care where better facilities are available. Dental insurance, like medical insurance, is coverage for individuals to protect them against dental costs. In the U.S., dental insurance is often part of an employer's benefits package, along with health insurance. Most countries rely on public funding to ensure that all citizens have universal access to health care. The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of insurance that pays for medical expenses. ... Dental insurance is insurance designed to pay the costs associated with dental care. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 268 KB) Summary The entrance to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital taken by en:User:FrancisTyers, 11 January 2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 268 KB) Summary The entrance to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital taken by en:User:FrancisTyers, 11 January 2006. ... NHS redirects here. ... Universal health care, or universal healthcare, is health care coverage which is extended to all citizens, and sometimes permanent residents, of a governmental region. ...

Disability

• Disability insurance policies provide financial support in the event the policyholder is unable to work because of disabling illness or injury. It provides monthly support to help pay such obligations as mortgages and credit cards.
• Total permanent disability insurance insurance provides benefits when a person is permanently disabled and can no longer work in their profession, often taken as an adjunct to life insurance.
• Disability overhead insurance allows business owners to cover the overhead expenses of their business while they are unable to work.
• Workers' compensation insurance replaces all or part of a worker's wages lost and accompanying medical expense incurred because of a job-related injury.

This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Total Permanent Disability (TPD) is a phrase used in the insurance industry. ... Workers compensation (colloquially known as workers comp in North American English or compo in Australia) provides insurance to cover medical care and compensation for employees who are injured in the course of employment, in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employees right to sue his or her employer for... A wage is a compensation which workers receive in exchange for their labor. ...

Casualty

Main article: Casualty insurance

Casualty insurance insures against accidents, not necessarily tied to any specific property. Casualty insurance is a broad category of insurance that includes almost any coverage that is not related to life, health, or property. ...

• Crime insurance is a form of casualty insurance that covers the policyholder against losses arising from the criminal acts of third parties. For example, a company can obtain crime insurance to cover losses arising from theft or embezzlement.
• Political risk insurance is a form of casualty insurance that can be taken out by businesses with operations in countries in which there is a risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss.

Political risk insurance can be taken out by businesses, of any size, having operations in countries in which there is a risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Revolution (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ...

Life insurance

Main article: Life insurance

Life insurance provides a monetary benefit to a decedent's family or other designated beneficiary, and may specifically provide for income to an insured person's family, burial, funeral and other final expenses. Life insurance policies often allow the option of having the proceeds paid to the beneficiary either in a lump sum cash payment or an annuity. Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individuals or individuals death. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... For other uses, see Funeral (disambiguation). ...

Annuities provide a stream of payments and are generally classified as insurance because they are issued by insurance companies and regulated as insurance and require the same kinds of actuarial and investment management expertise that life insurance requires. Annuities and pensions that pay a benefit for life are sometimes regarded as insurance against the possibility that a retiree will outlive his or her financial resources. In that sense, they are the complement of life insurance and, from an underwriting perspective, are the mirror image of life insurance. Annuity contracts are offered by organizations and individuals that may accumulate value and take a current value and pay it out over a period of years. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. ...

Certain life insurance contracts accumulate cash values, which may be taken by the insured if the policy is surrendered or which may be borrowed against. Some policies, such as annuities and endowment policies, are financial instruments to accumulate or liquidate wealth when it is needed. For other uses, see Cash (disambiguation). ... An endowment policy is a life assurance contract designed to pay a lump sum after a specified term or on earlier death (some policies also include critical illness as condition of payout). ... Winding up redirects here. ... For the business meaning, see Wealth (economics). ...

In many countries, such as the U.S. and the UK, the tax law provides that the interest on this cash value is not taxable under certain circumstances. This leads to widespread use of life insurance as a tax-efficient method of saving as well as protection in the event of early death. Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes. ... // This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In U.S., the tax on interest income on life insurance policies and annuities is generally deferred. However, in some cases the benefit derived from tax deferral may be offset by a low return. This depends upon the insuring company, the type of policy and other variables (mortality, market return, etc.). Moreover, other income tax saving vehicles (e.g., IRAs, 401(k) plans, Roth IRAs) may be better alternatives for value accumulation. A combination of low-cost term life insurance and a higher-return tax-efficient retirement account may achieve better investment return.

Property

Main article: Property insurance

This tornado damage to an Illinois home would be considered an "Act of God" for insurance purposes

Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, inland marine insurance or boiler insurance. Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x800, 1204 KB) Summary April 2006 Tornado Outbreak, OFallon, Illinois, (April 2, 2006). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x800, 1204 KB) Summary April 2006 Tornado Outbreak, OFallon, Illinois, (April 2, 2006). ... This article is about the weather phenomenon. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Act of God is a common legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. ... A young waif steals a pair of boots Stealing redirects here. ... For the geological process, see Weathering or Erosion. ... Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. ... National Flood Insurance Program In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in response to the rising cost of taxpayer funded disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of damage caused by floods. ... Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. ... Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowners insurance (often abbreviated in the real estate industry as HOI), is the type of property insurance that covers private homes. ... Boiler insurance is a type of property insurance that pays accidental losses to machinery and equipment. ...

• Automobile insurance, known in the UK as motor insurance, is probably the most common form of insurance and may cover both legal liability claims against the driver and loss of or damage to the insured's vehicle itself. Throughout the United States auto insurance policy is required to legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. In some jurisdictions, bodily injury compensation for automobile accident victims has been changed to a no-fault system, which reduces or eliminates the ability to sue for compensation but provides automatic eligibility for benefits. Credit card companies insure against damage on rented cars.
  • Driving School Insurance insurance provides cover for any authorized driver whilst under going tuition, cover also unlike other motor policies provides cover for instructor liability where both the pupil and driving instructor are both equally liable in the event of a claim.
• Aviation insurance insures against hull, spares, deductible, hull wear and liability risks.
• Boiler insurance (also known as boiler and machinery insurance or equipment breakdown insurance) insures against accidental physical damage to equipment or machinery.
• Builder's risk insurance insures against the risk of physical loss or damage to property during construction. Builder's risk insurance is typically written on an "all risk" basis covering damage due to any cause (including the negligence of the insured) not otherwise expressly excluded.
• Crop insurance "Farmers use crop insurance to reduce or manage various risks associated with growing crops. Such risks include crop loss or damage caused by weather, hail, drought, frost damage, insects, or disease, for instance."^[8]
• Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. Most ordinary homeowners insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage. Most earthquake insurance policies feature a high deductible. Rates depend on location and the probability of an earthquake, as well as the construction of the home.
• A fidelity bond is a form of casualty insurance that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. It usually insures a business for losses caused by the dishonest acts of its employees.
• Flood insurance protects against property loss due to flooding. Many insurers in the US do not provide flood insurance in some portions of the country. In response to this, the federal government created the National Flood Insurance Program which serves as the insurer of last resort.
• Home insurance or homeowners insurance: See "Property insurance".
• Marine insurance and marine cargo insurance cover the loss or damage of ships at sea or on inland waterways, and of the cargo that may be on them. When the owner of the cargo and the carrier are separate corporations, marine cargo insurance typically compensates the owner of cargo for losses sustained from fire, shipwreck, etc., but excludes losses that can be recovered from the carrier or the carrier's insurance. Many marine insurance underwriters will include "time element" coverage in such policies, which extends the indemnity to cover loss of profit and other business expenses attributable to the delay caused by a covered loss.
• Surety bond insurance is a three party insurance guaranteeing the performance of the principal.
• Terrorism insurance provides protection against any loss or damage caused by terrorist activities.
• Volcano insurance is an insurance that covers volcano damage in Hawaii.
• Windstorm insurance is an insurance covering the damage that can be caused by hurricanes and tropical cyclones.

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts individuals at a disadvantage. ... For other uses, see Driving (disambiguation). ... The Trikke is a Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Automobiles are among the most commonly used engine powered vehicles. ... No-fault insurance is a type of insurance (typically automobile insurance) where insureds are indemnified by their own insurer regardless of fault in the incident. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... // Aviation Insurance was first introduced in the early years of the 20th Century. ... Boiler insurance is a type of property insurance that pays accidental losses to machinery and equipment. ... Builders risk insurance is a special type of property insurance which indemnifies against damage to buildings while they are under construction. ... Crop insurance is purchased by farmers to protect themselves against crop failures due to natural disasters, such as floods, hail, and drought. ... Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. ... This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ... Home insurance, or homeowners insurance, is an insurance policy that combines insurance on the home, its contents, and, often, the other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home. ... Look up Deductible in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A fidelity bond is a form of protection that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. ... National Flood Insurance Program In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in response to the rising cost of taxpayer funded disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of damage caused by floods. ... The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created by Congress in 1968. ... Marine Insurance covers the loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport or property by which cargo is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and final destination. ... A surety bond is a contract among at least three parties: The principal - the primary party who will be performing a contractual obligation The obligee - the party who is the recipient of the obligation, and The surety - who ensures that the principals obligations will be performed. ... Terrorism insurance is insurance purchased by property owners to cover their potential losses and liabilities that might occur due to terrorist activities. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Liability

Main article: Liability insurance

Liability insurance is a very broad superset that covers legal claims against the insured. Many types of insurance include an aspect of liability coverage. For example, a homeowner's insurance policy will normally include liability coverage which protects the insured in the event of a claim brought by someone who slips and falls on the property; automobile insurance also includes an aspect of liability insurance that indemnifies against the harm that a crashing car can cause to others' lives, health, or property. The protection offered by a liability insurance policy is twofold: a legal defense in the event of a lawsuit commenced against the policyholder and indemnification (payment on behalf of the insured) with respect to a settlement or court verdict. Liability policies typically cover only the negligence of the insured, and will not apply to results of willful or intentional acts by the insured. Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk transference. ...

• Environmental liability insurance protects the insured from bodily injury, property damage and cleanup costs as a result of the dispersal, release or escape of pollutants.
• Errors and omissions insurance: See "Professional liability insurance" under "Liability insurance".
• Professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance, protects professional practitioners such as architects, lawyers, doctors, and accountants against potential negligence claims made by their patients/clients. Professional liability insurance may take on different names depending on the profession. For example, professional liability insurance in reference to the medical profession may be called malpractice insurance. Notaries public may take out errors and omissions insurance (E&O). Other potential E&O policyholders include, for example, real estate brokers, home inspectors, appraisers, and website developers.
• Directors and officers liability insurance protects an organization (usually a corporation) from costs associated with litigation resulting from mistakes incurred by directors and officers for which they are liable. In the industry, it is usually called "D&O" for short.
• Prize indemnity insurance protects the insured from giving away a large prize at a specific event. Examples would include offering prizes to contestants who can make a half-court shot at a basketball game, or a hole-in-one at a golf tournament.

Professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance, protects professional practitioners such as architects, lawyers, doctors, and accountants against potential negligence claims made by their patients/clients. ... Directors and officers liability insurance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Prize indemnity insurance is indemnification insurance for a promotion in which the participants are offered the chance to win prizes. ...

Credit

Main article: Credit insurance

Credit insurance repays some or all of a loan back when certain things happen to the borrower such as unemployment, disability, or death. Mortgage insurance is a form of credit insurance, although the name credit insurance more often is used to refer to policies that cover other kinds of debt. Credit Insurance is an insurance policy associated with a specific loan or line of credit which pays back some or all of any money owed should certain things happen to the borrower, such as death, disability, or unemployment. ... For other uses, see Loan (disambiguation). ... CIA figures for world unemployment rates, 2006 Unemployment is the state in which a person is without work, available to work, and is currently seeking work. ... Disabled redirects here. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ...

• Mortgage insurance insures the lender against default by the borrower.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mortgage. ...

Other types

• Collateral protection insurance or CPI, insures property (primarily vehicles) held as collateral for loans made by lending institutions.
• Defense Base Act Workers' compensation or DBA Insurance insurance provides coverage for civilian workers hired by the government to perform contracts outside the US and Canada. DBA is required for all US citizens, US residents, US Green Card holders, and all employees or subcontractors hired on overseas government contracts. Depending on the country, Foreign Nationals must also be covered under DBA. This coverage typically includes expenses related to medical treatment and loss of wages, as well as disability and death benefits.
• Expatriate insurance provides individuals and organizations operating outside of their home country with protection for automobiles, property, health, liability and business pursuits.
• Financial loss insurance protects individuals and companies against various financial risks. For example, a business might purchase cover to protect it from loss of sales if a fire in a factory prevented it from carrying out its business for a time. Insurance might also cover the failure of a creditor to pay money it owes to the insured. This type of insurance is frequently referred to as "business interruption insurance." Fidelity bonds and surety bonds are included in this category, although these products provide a benefit to a third party (the "obligee") in the event the insured party (usually referred to as the "obligor") fails to perform its obligations under a contract with the obligee.
• Kidnap and ransom insurance
• Locked funds insurance is a little-known hybrid insurance policy jointly issued by governments and banks. It is used to protect public funds from tamper by unauthorized parties. In special cases, a government may authorize its use in protecting semi-private funds which are liable to tamper. The terms of this type of insurance are usually very strict. Therefore it is used only in extreme cases where maximum security of funds is required.
• Nuclear incident insurance covers damages resulting from an incident involving radioactive materials and is generally arranged at the national level. (For the United States, see the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act.)
• Pet insurance insures pets against accidents and illnesses - some companies cover routine/wellness care and burial, as well.
• Pollution Insurance. A first-party coverage for contamination of insured property either by external or on-site sources. Coverage for liability to third parties arising from contamination of air, water, or land due to the sudden and accidental release of hazardous materials from the insured site. The policy usually covers the costs of cleanup and may include coverage for releases from underground storage tanks. Intentional acts are specifically excluded.
• Purchase insurance is aimed at providing protection on the products people purchase. Purchase insurance can cover individual purchase protection, warranties, guarantees, care plans and even mobile phone insurance. Such insurance is normally very limited in the scope of problems that are covered by the policy.
• Title insurance provides a guarantee that title to real property is vested in the purchaser and/or mortgagee, free and clear of liens or encumbrances. It is usually issued in conjunction with a search of the public records performed at the time of a real estate transaction.
• Travel insurance is an insurance cover taken by those who travel abroad, which covers certain losses such as medical expenses, lost of personal belongings, travel delay, personal liabilities, etc.

Expatriate Insurance Expatriate Insurance policies are designed to cover financial and other losses incurred while living and working in a country other than ones own. ... In economics, a business (also called firm or enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers or corporate entities such as governments, charities or other businesses. ... Sales are the activities involved in providing products or services in return for money or other compensation. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A creditor is a party (e. ... For other uses, see Money (disambiguation). ... A fidelity bond is a form of protection that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. ... A surety bond is a contract among at least three parties: The principal - the primary party who will be performing a contractual obligation The obligee - the party who is the recipient of the obligation, and The surety - who ensures that the principals obligations will be performed. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Locked Funds Insurance is a little known hybrid insurance policy jointly issued by governments and banks. ... The Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act (commonly called the Price-Anderson Act) is an act of the Congress of the United States. ... Pet Insurance pays the veterinary costs if ones pet is ill or is injured in an accident. ... Title insurance is insurance against loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage liens. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the legal mechanism used to secure property in favor of a creditor. ... In law, lien is the broadest term for any sort of charge or encumbrance against an item of property that secures the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial and other losses incurred while traveling, either within ones own country, or internationally. ...

Insurance financing vehicles

• Protected Self-Insurance is an alternative risk financing mechanism in which an organization retains the mathematically calculated cost of risk within the organization and transfers the catastrophic risk with specific and aggregate limits to an Insurer so the maximum total cost of the program is known. A properly designed and underwritten Protected Self-Insurance Program reduces and stabilizes the cost of insurance and provides valuable risk management information.
• Retrospectively Rated Insurance is a method of establishing a premium on large commercial accounts. The final premium is based on the insured's actual loss experience during the policy term, sometimes subject to a minimum and maximum premium, with the final premium determined by a formula. Under this plan, the current year's premium is based partially (or wholly) on the current year's losses, although the premium adjustments may take months or years beyond the current year's expiration date. The rating formula is guaranteed in the insurance contract. Formula: retrospective premium = converted loss + basic premium × tax multiplier. Numerous variations of this formula have been developed and are in use.
• Fraternal insurance is provided on a cooperative basis by fraternal benefit societies or other social organizations.^[9]
• Formal self insurance is the deliberate decision to pay for otherwise insurable losses out of one's own money. This can be done on a formal basis by establishing a separate fund into which funds are deposited on a periodic basis, or by simply forgoing the purchase of available insurance and paying out-of-pocket. Self insurance is usually used to pay for high-frequency, low-severity losses. Such losses, if covered by conventional insurance, mean having to pay a premium that includes loadings for the company's general expenses, cost of putting the policy on the books, acquisition expenses, premium taxes, and contingencies. While this is true for all insurance, for small, frequent losses the transaction costs may exceed the benefit of volatility reduction that insurance otherwise affords.
• No-fault insurance is a type of insurance policy (typically automobile insurance) where insureds are indemnified by their own insurer regardless of fault in the incident.
• Reinsurance is a type of insurance purchased by insurance companies or self-insured employers to protect against unexpected losses. Financial reinsurance is a form of reinsurance that is primary used for capital management rather than to transfer insurance risk.
• Stop-loss insurance provides protection against catastrophic or unpredictable losses. It is purchased by organizations who do not want to assume 100% of the liability for losses arising from the plans. Under a stop-loss policy, the insurance company becomes liable for losses that exceed certain limits called deductibles.
• Social insurance can be many things to many people in many countries. But a summary of its essence is that it is a collection of insurance coverages (including components of life insurance, disability income insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and others), plus retirement savings, that mandates participation by all citizens. By forcing everyone in society to be a policyholder and pay premiums, it ensures that everyone can become a claimant when or if he/she needs to. Along the way this inevitably becomes related to other concepts such as the justice system and the