Definitions Flashcards
any act or omission with a view to illegally obtaining an insurance benefit
Insurance Fraud:
Latin for the guilty; guilty knowledge or intention to commit a crime
Mens Rea:
Coverage for losses from fire and lightning and also the resultant damage caused by smoke and water
Fire insurance:
Incorrect or missing information about a material fact that is offered, or not, by an application or insured with or without the intent to mislead
Misrepresentation:
The intentional and voluntary relinquishment of a known right. A waiver under a policy is required to be clearly expressed and in writing
Waiver:
A bar created when someone by his action indicates he will not exercise a right he has
Estoppels
An agreement signed by the policyholder after a loss agreeing that the investigation and determination of the amount of damage by the insurance company shall not be construed as admission of liability
Non-waiver agreement
A material that is used to start or spread a fire. It is usually flammable to combustible liquid
Accelerant
The fair market value of the property, taking into account factors that might augment or reduce the value of the property in question
Actual cash value
one who investigates insurance claims, makes recommendations regarding the payment of benefits from insurance policies and negotiates payments and settlements
Adjuster
a person who is employed or authorized to act on behalf of another. Agents can be independent or direct writers. An independent agent is one who contracts with at least two or more insurance companies to sell their insurance policies to the public and is paid a commission based on the percentage of each premium paid. This includes a fee for each policy serviced. A direct agent represents only one company and sells for only one company and is also paid on a commission basis similar to the independent agent.
Agent
Damages designed to compensate the plaintiff for suffering intangible damages such as humiliation and distress, as a result of the defendant’s actions.
Aggravated damages
A name given to an insurance policy that covers each and every loss except those that are specifically excluded. If the insurer does not exclude. If the insurer does not exclude it, then it is automatically covered. This is the broadest type of coverage that can be purchased
All risk Policy
An actual or attempted malicious and deliberate burning of physical property by its owner or another person
Arson
Design to deceive or mislead another. Conscious wrongdoing. Constructive fraud
Bad faith
A written or oral agreement given by an insurer to insure a risk, pending the issuance of a formal policy. A binder is deemed to be the policy and must be cancelled in the same manner
Binder:
the collection of client business (policies) and agent or broker has placed with insurers. Generally, a broker owns her book of business while the agent’s book of business is owned by the insurer
Book of business
A licensed independent person or firm who acts on behalf of an insured in placing business with insurance companies.
Broker
The standard by which a claim must be proven to prevail. The burden of proof is typically borne by one party or another
Burden of proof:
The path of travel and the shape of the charred areas from the point of origin of a fire
- ᶺ - A vee down suggests chemical ; V- A vee up is normal
Burn Pattern
Evidence based on making inferences from connected facts such as blood samples at a crime scene
Circumstantial evidence
An illegal agreement between two or more persons to defraud or deceive another
Collusion
Evidence that proves a fact without inference or presumption, which is true and establishes the fact, such as eyewitness testimony
Direct evidence:
An insurance form that protects the insured against liability against liability for committing an error or omission in the performance of professional duties. Generally, such policies are designed to cover financial losses rather than liability for bodily injury or property damage.
Errors of omissions:
A bar created when someone by his action indicates he will not exercise a right he has
Estoppels:
Anything presented at trial which attempts to prove the case. Two main categories of evidence are direct and circumstantial
Evidence
Being responsible for providing the principal with all the information that materially affects the principal’s interests; all information that is relevant to the affairs entrusted to the agent
Fiduciary duty