A
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Accidental death benefit
money paid to the beneficiary if the person insured dies accidentally
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Accumulation annuity
an investment for a certain period of time at a guaranteed interest rate
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Additional insured
other people covered by the insurance policy
-
Adjudicate
the insurance company makes a decision about a claim
-
Additional insured
other people covered by the insurance policy
-
Adjuster
claim reviewer
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Adjustment
an increase or decrease to the amount to be paid out for a claim
-
Advance premiums
premiums charged at the beginning of the policy
-
Agent of record
agent on the policy
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Amortization period
period during which regular payments are made to pay off a debt/loan
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Annuity
a policy that pays out money regularly for the rest of the life of the person covered or for some other period of time
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Annuity, survivorship
annuity that goes to the spouse of the person covered if the person dies before the annuity period is over
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Appraiser
person who estimates the value of things
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Assigner
a person who transfers assets to another
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Assignment
transfer
B
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Beneficiary
person who receives the money from an insurance policy or investment account
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Beneficiary, contingent
back-up beneficiary; person who receives the money from the life insurance policy if the first beneficiary dies
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Beneficiary, irrevocable
a beneficiary who can’t be changed without his or her permission
C
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Capital gain
profit on the sale of an investment
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Cash (surrender) value
the amount of money the policy is worth as it grows to its full value; the insurance company pays this money back to the policyholder if he or she asks to end the policy (the insured person can also borrow money from this amount instead of ending the policy)
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Cessation
quitting, stopping
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Claim
an insured person asking the insurance company to pay him or her back for medical costs or other costs covered by the policy; or a beneficiary asking the insurance company to pay a death benefit under a life insurance policy
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Coinsurance
insurance where the insured person pays part of a bill and the insurance company pays the rest
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Collateral insurance
insurance to repay the insured person’s business loans upon his or her death
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Common shares
shares of ownership in a company that allow a person to vote at the company’s annual general meeting
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Company risk
the risk that the individual companies invested in won’t perform as well as expected
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Compulsory insurance
insurance required by law
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Contingent owner
person who will own the life insurance policy if the current owner dies before the policy ends
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Conversion right
right to change a policy (to a different kind of policy)
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Co-payment
the amount of money the insured person pays for certain services or products; the insurance company covers the rest
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Coupon rate
bond’s interest rate
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Credit or default risk
the chance that a company invested in will go bankrupt or have its credit rating downgraded, making it more expensive for the company to borrow money
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Currency or exchange risk
changes in the value of the Canadian dollar affecting one’s investments
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Cut-off clause
time limit for making a claim
D
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Death benefit
money paid to the beneficiary when the person covered by the insurance dies
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Decreasing term insurance
temporary life insurance in which the amount to be paid when the insured person dies goes down every year
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Deductible
the amount of expenses related to a claim that an insured person must pay before the insurance company will pay the rest of the claim
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Deferred premium payment plan
plan that lets an insured person pay the premium over time
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Depreciation
loss of value
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Designate
choose, set, label
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Disburse
pay, pay out
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Discount brokerage
a company that makes trades on behalf of investors, charging a lower commission, but not offering all the services a regular brokerage has (for example, advice)
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Dismemberment
loss of a body part
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Double insurance
two policies covering the same risk
E
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Effective date
start date
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Eligible
allowed, qualified
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Endorsement
addition (to a policy)
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Endowment policy
life insurance policy that will be paid out to the insured person if he or she is still alive when it ends
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Estate
assets and liabilities (of a person who died)
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Estate plan
plan to transfer the insured person’s assets and liabilities when he or she dies
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Excess limits premium
premium to cover a risk that is more costly than what the policy normally covers
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Exclusion
something that is not covered
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Executor
estate manager, person (named in a will) to manage the estate of a person who has died
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Executor de bonis non
replacement estate manager
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Expiration notice
warning of policy end
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Extended term insurance
a type of life insurance that will stay active even if the insured person does not pay the premiums, but only if there is enough money accumulated under the policy so far to pay for the premiums and other fees
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Face amount or face value
coverage amount, amount of insurance
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Face of policy
cover page
G
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Grace period
length of time that the policy will stay valid if the premium has been charged but not paid; or be specific about how long the insured person has grant give
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Group insurance
insurance through a group, often a workplace
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Guaranteed insurability
the ability to increase one’s coverage regardless of one’s health
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Guaranteed investment certificate
an investment for a certain period at a guaranteed interest rate
I
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Incontestability clause
a clause in a policy that says after two years, the insurance company cannot say the policy is invalid unless there was fraud at the time of sale
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Inflation risk
the chance that an investment won’t grow enough to cover the increase in prices over time (meaning today’s money won’t be worth as much in the future as it is worth now)
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Insurable interest
something worth insuring
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Insured
you, person covered by the insurance, insured person
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Interest rate risk
the risk that changes in the interest rate will affect your investment
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Intermediary
agent, negotiator, representative
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Intestate
without a will, not having a will
L
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Lapsed
ended, ended and not continued, cancelled
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Living benefit
money paid in advance (out of the death benefit amount) if the person covered by the insurance is deathly ill
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Longevity risk
the chance that a person will live longer than his or her income can support him or her
M
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Management expense ratio
the portion of a mutual fund’s expenses, including the fund manager’s pay, that are charged by a fund company before any returns are paid to investors
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Market risk
changes in market prices affecting an investment
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Maturity date
the date the bond issuer must repay the value of the bond
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Minimum retained premium
minimum premium kept on cancellation of a policy
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Mortality
death
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Mortgage life insurance
life insurance that, when a person dies, pays the company that holds his or her mortgage
N
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Named insured
person mentioned in the policy and covered by the policy
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Net asset value per share
the value of one unit in a mutual fund
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Non-concurrent insurance
insurance covering different risks
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Non-disclosure
not giving important information
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Non-insurable risk
a risk the insurance company does not insure
O
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Occupational accident
work accident
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Occupational disease
disease from work
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Optional settlement clause
a clause that allows a person to choose how he or she wants the claim paid out
P
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Participating insurance
life insurance that pays out a dividend (money) to its policyholders if the company has surplus earnings related to life insurance; often referred to as “par insurance”
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Payee
the person paid
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Payer
the person paying
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Percentage participation
clause in a health insurance policy that says the percentage of a claim that the insurance company will pay out
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Permanent life insurance
provides lifetime coverage even though the insured person pays premiums for only a pre-determined period of time. As long as the premiums are paid, the life insurance stays in effect, no matter what the insured person’s age or health is
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Permanent partial disability
partly disabled for life
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Permanent total disability
totally disabled for life
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Physical hazard
physical danger
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Policy anniversary
the same month and day, every year, that a policy started
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Policy fund
where payments earn interest based on the investment account options chosen
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Policy limit
the maximum amount of money that the insurance company will pay out in claims under a policy
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Policy provisions
policy details
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Power of attorney
power to act for someone else
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Pre-existing condition
physical condition that existed before the beginning of the policy
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Preferred rates
a person gets lower premiums if he or she is less risky to insure (healthy, non-smoker)
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Preferred shares
shares of ownership in a company that do not give voting rights but do pay dividends (money)
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Premium
the monthly or annual payments in exchange for a life insurance policy
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Premium discount plan
getting a discount for paying premiums ahead of time
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Presumptive disability
considering the loss of an eye or limb or the ability to talk to be total disability
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Principal (or face value)
the amount “borrowed” by someone issuing a bond
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Principal sum
the amount to be paid, in one payment, on the insured person’s death or accidental dismemberment
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Probationary period
the time from the first day of illness or disability until a health insurance policy starts paying
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Prohibited list/risk
list of risks the insurance company doesn’t insure
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Pro rata cancellation
cancelling a policy and getting back the premiums paid for coverage of time that has not passed yet
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Pro rata clause
clause that gives the costs for changing or cancelling a policy
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Prorating
adjusting benefits paid because of a mistake or because other insurance covers the same thing
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Protection
coverage
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Provisional premium
temporary premium or one-time premium
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Proxy
someone acting for someone else
R
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Rate of return
the gain or loss you make as a percentage of the total amount invested
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Reformation of a policy
rewording of a policy
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Remoteness of damage
how indirect the cause of the damage is
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Renewal premium
new premium
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Restoration premium
premium to bring a policy back to its original worth (after a claim)
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Retroactive restoration
clause in a policy that automatically brings it back to its original value after a claim
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Return premium
refund
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Rider
addition to a policy
S
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Short rate cancellation
cancelling a policy before its end
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Stock company
a company that issues shares
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Straight life insurance
life insurance without any savings tied to it
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Surrender
to cancel a policy before its end, with both the person insured and the insurance company agreeing
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Surrender charge
fee the policyholder must pay if he or she cashes out the policy
T
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Tax-deferred
taxed later (for example, upon withdrawal)
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Term insurance benefit
gives the policyholder the ability to add term insurance to a permanent or universal life policy to protect someone for a temporary need
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Testate
having a will
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Testator
person making a will
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Trust
an account holding assets for a beneficiary
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Trustee
person managing a trust
U
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Underwrite
insure
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Underwriter
the insurance company
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Universal life insurance
combines permanent life insurance plus the ability to make investments that grow without tax within the policy
W
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Waiver
to abandon a right
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Waiver of premium
the policyholder does not have to pay the premiums
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Warranty
a statement in a contract that, if broken, usually entitles the other party to compensation
