Insurance Definitions

S Return To Alpha Index     Salvage: Recovery made by an insurance company by the sale of property which has been taken over from the insured as a part of loss settlement. Self- Administered (Trusteed or Directly Invested) Plan: A plan funded through a fiduciary, generally a bank, but sometimes a group of individuals, which directly invests the accumulated funds. Retirement payments are made from the fund as they fall due. Self-Administration: The procedure where an employer maintains all records regarding the employees covered under a group insurance plan. Self-Insurance: A form of risk financing through which a firm assumes all or a part of its own losses. Senior Citizen Policies: Contracts insuring persons 65 years of age or more. In most cases, these policies supplement the coverage afforded by the government under the Medicare program. Separate Account: An asset account established by a life insurance company separate from other funds, used primarily for pension plans and variable life products. This arrangement permits wider latitude in the choice of investments, particularly in equities. Service-Type Plans: Plans that provide their benefits in the form of services rendered rather than cash (for example, Blue Cross and Blue Shield). Settlement Options: The several ways, other than immediate payment in cash, which a policyholder or beneficiary may choose to have policy benefits paid. Short-Term Disability Income Insurance: The provision to pay benefits to a covered disabled person as long as he/she remains disabled up to a specified period not exceeding two years. Sickness Insurance: A form of health insurance providing benefits for loss resulting from illness or disease. Skip person: A beneficiary who is at least two generations younger than the person making the transfer. Social Security Freeze: A long- term disability policy provision which establishes that the offset from benefits paid by Social Security will not be changed regardless of subsequent changes in the Social Security law. Social Security Option: An option under which the employee may elect that monthly payments of an annuity before a specified age (62 or 65) be increased, and that payments thereafter be decreased to produce, as nearly as practical, a level total annual annuity to the employee, including Social Security benefits when they become due. Soft Market: That part of the insurance sales cycle in which competition is at a maximum as insurance companies use their excess capacity to sell more policies at lower prices (see "Hard market"). Special Damages: Compensation awarded for actual economic losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages. Special Risk Insurance: Coverage for risks or hazards of a special or unusual nature. Split Funding: The use of two or more funding agencies for the same pension plan. An arrangement whereby a portion of the contributions to the pension plan are paid to a life insurance company and the remainder of the contributions invested through a corporate trustee, primarily in equities. Spouse's Benefit: Payments to the surviving spouse of a deceased employee, usually in the form of a series of payments upon meeting certain requirements and usually terminating with the survivor's remarriage or death. Standard Insurance: Insurance written on the basis of regular morbidity underwriting assumption used by an insurance company and issued at normal rates. Standard Markets: Insurance companies for which the vast majority of people qualify. Standard Provision: Those contract provisions generally required by state statutes until superseded by the uniform policy provision. Standard Provisions: A set of policy provisions prescribed by former laws setting forth certain rights and obligations of both the insured and the company under an individual policy of health insurance. These were originally introduced in 1912 and have now been replaced by the Uniform Provisions. Standard Risk: A person who, according to a company's underwriting standards, is entitled to purchase insurance protection without extra rating or special restrictions. State Disability Plan: A plan for accident and sickness, or disability insurance required by state legislation of those employers doing business in that particular state. State Fund: A fund set up by a state government to provide a specific line or lines of insurance. Some state permit private insurers to compete with the state fund. State Insurance Department: A department of a state government whose duty is to regulate the business of insurance and give the public information on insurance. State-of-the-Art Defense: An argument used in product liability cases that the technology needed to avoid the loss in a particular case did not exist at the time of the product's manufacture. Statutory Accounting: Special accounting practices for insurance companies required by state law and designed to provide greater protection for the public against potential insolvency of these essential institutions. Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP): Principles required by statute which must be followed by an insurance company when submitting its financial statements to the various state insurance departments. Such principles differ from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Statutory Underwriting Profit or Loss: Premiums earned less losses and expenses. Step-Rate Premium: A rating structure in which the premiums increase periodically at pre-determined times such as policy years or attained ages. Step-up in basis:An increase in the tax basis of property to the value claimed in the taxable estate of a decedent. Stock Company: A company organized and owned by stockholders, as distinguished from the mutual form of company which is owned by its policyholders. Stock Life Insurance Company: A life insurance company owned by stockholders who elect a board to direct the company's management. Stock companies, in general, issue nonparticipating insurance, but may also issue participating insurance.Stock Redemption Plan, an entity purchase form of buy-sell agreement within a corporation that involves the corporation buying back shares from a departing owner. Straight Life Insurance: Whole life insurance on which premiums are payable for life. Strict Liability: Liability for damages even though fault or negligence cannot be proven. Subrogation: Process by which one insurance company seeks reimbursement from another company or person for a claim it has already paid. Substandard (Impaired Risk): A risk that cannot meet the normal health requirements of a standard health insurance policy. Protection is provided in consideration of a waiver, a special policy form, or a higher premium charge. Substandard risks may include those persons who engage in certain sports and persons who are rated because of poor habits or morals. Substandard Insurance: Insurance issued with an extra premium or special restriction to those persons who do not qualify for insurance at standard rates. Substandard Risk: An individual, who, because of health history or physical limitations, does not measure up to the qualification of a standard risk. Supplementary Contract: An agreement between a life insurance company and a policyholder or beneficiary by which the company retains the cash sum payable under an insurance policy and makes payments in accordance with the settlement option chosen. Surety Bond: An agreement providing for monetary compensation in the event of a failure to perform specified acts within a stated period. The surety company, for example, becomes responsible for fulfillment of a contract if the contractor defaults. Surgical Expense Insurance: Health insurance policies, which provide benefits toward the physician's or surgeon's operating fees. Benefits may consist of scheduled amounts for each surgical procedure. Surgical Schedule: A list of cash allowances attached to the policy, which are payable for various types of surgery, with a maximum amount based upon the severity of the operation. Surgical Schedule: A list of maximum amounts payable by the policy for various types of surgery, with the amount based on the severity of the operation. Surplus: The net worth of a company, i.e. the amount by which assets exceed liabilities. Adequate net worth is necessary for the protection of policyholders against unforeseen losses. Surplus: The amount by which the value of an insurer's assets exceeds its liabilities. Surplus Lines: (1) A risk or a part of a risk for which there is no normal insurance market available. (2) Insurance written by non-admitted insurance companies.

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