Liability – If you are at fault in an automobile accident, your liability coverage will pay for the medical expenses and additional damages for which you are liable for. It pays for the third party expenses from the accident, including their bodily injury and their property damage.
Uninsured Motorist – An addition to the standard automobile policy that provides coverage in the event that the other driver is responsible for the accident and is not insured. Uninsured motorist (UM) will pay for the injuries to the policy holder and their passengers.
Under Insured Motorist – An addition to the standard automobile policy that provides coverage in the event that the other driver is responsible for the accident and has auto insurance, but the damages caused exceeds the amount of auto insurance they are carrying.
Comprehensive – Provides coverage for your vehicle from the result of covered perils not related to a collision like fire, theft, hail, vandalism, falling objects and hitting an animal.
Collision – Provides coverage for your vehicle resulting from an accident from colliding with another vehicle or a stationary object.
Medical Payments – Coverage that pays for reasonable medical expenses or death benefits to anyone associated with an accident. It pays for medical expenses to you and your passengers, regardless of who is at fault in the accident. It can also help cover medical expenses from an injury as a pedestrian.
Personal Injury Protection – An extension of auto insurance that pays for the same medical expenses that ‘medical payments’ would cover, plus it pays for lost wages up to 80% and any rehabilitation services resulting from the auto accident. In the state of Texas, you can choose to either carry Medical Payments or PIP, but you can’t carry both.
Perils – The reason for the cause of loss to the insured property like fire, theft or vandalism. Vandalism is the peril that would be listed in their policy to show that they are covered.
Deductible – The amount of money the insured pays out to the insurance company before their vehicle gets repaired. Common deductible amounts are $250, 500 or $1,000.
Rental Reimbursement – A set amount of money per day to help assist with renting a car when the insured’s car is not movable due to a covered loss.
Roadside Assistance – A service for the insured to provide them assistance when their vehicle has run out of gas, lost their keys, need a jump start or essential fluids, flat tire, etc.
Towing – Pays for towing charges used to tow the insured’s car to the nearest facility for repair.
Endorsement – The process of making a change to an active policy that increases or decreases the premium. Common endorsements include adding a second vehicle or a second driver.
Binder – A temporary insurance contract given to the insured while their policy goes through the underwriting process and their policy is issued.
Declarations Page – The front page of a policy jacket that includes the name of the insured (s), the premium, the amount of coverage and the name, description and location of the item being covered.
Insurance Contract – The policy paperwork between the insured (customer) and the insurer (insurance company) that explains the details of the contract.
Cancellation – The termination of an insurance policy before the policy has expired.
Lienholder – The organization or bank that has a financial interest in the property up to the amount that was borrowed by the insured, which is typically a finance or leasing company.
Reinstatement – The process of putting the insurance policy back into force after a lapse. If the insured fails to pay the premium on time, the policy will be cancelled, but can usually be reinstated if it is within 30 days of cancellation.
Renewal – The process of continuing your insurance policy after it’s set to expire. When a policy contract is set to expire after six months or one year, the customer needs to renew their policy to keep it in force.
Actual Cash Value (ACV) – The replacement cost of an item minus any sort of depreciation that the item incurred over time.
Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) – The report of the insured’s driving history that would include any violations, convictions and license status updates.
Loss Ratio – The ratio of total losses incurred in claims and expenses divided by the total premiums earned.
Installment Fee – A monthly installment fee charged by the company for breaking up the premium into monthly installments.
Subrogation – When the insurance company goes after the third party that is responsible for the insurance loss, in an attempt to collect the amount of the claim paid to the insured for the loss.
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) – A unique code given to each vehicle made up of numbers and letters to help an insurance company get specific details and characteristics of the vehicle.
Salvage – The damaged property which is taken over by the insurance company after the claim is paid out. If a car is totaled, the insurance company will pay the insured for their car and keep the damaged car in hopes of selling parts to recoup some of the money paid out.
Effective Date – The date on which an insurance policy starts or goes into effect.
Premium – The price of the insurance policy that the insured pays in exchange for the insurance coverage.
Claim – The request by the policyholder (aka the insured) to have an item fixed or repaired by the insurance policy.
Exclusion – Specific hazards or perils that are not covered on the insurance policy. There are common exclusions like intentional acts that are excluded. You can also exclude a driver so that they are not covered on the auto policy.
Grace Period – The period of time after the due date of a payment during which the policy will remain in force without any penalty. After the grace period runs out, the policy will cancel if no payment is made.
Expiration Date – The ending date of an insurance policy. After the insurance policy expires, the insured would have to restart or renew a policy.
Policy fee – A fee the company charges to issue the policy, and is non-refundable and fully earned.
Concealment – Failure to disclose the facts which could void an insurance policy
Indemnity – The process of bringing the insured back to where they were prior to the claim or loss. If an insured has a $5,000 loss, the insurance company will indemnify the insured by paying for the claim to assist with repairs to bringing the insured back to where they were.
Policy Period – The time frame of a policy that is in force, during the effective and expiration dates.
Underwriting – The process that each policy will go through so that the insurance company can decide to insure the risk or not. Underwriting determines who is insured and how much in insurance premiums to charge the insured.
Insured – The customer or client that is covered by the policy.
Insurer – The insurance company that is covering the customer, or insured.
Customization – Additional equipment that has been added to a vehicle after it has been purchased from the manufacturer, altering or changing the original vehicle model. Coverage can be purchased to insure these additions added by the insured, such as special rims or stereo equipment that has been upgraded.
Hazard – Something that increases the chance of a loss occurring such as a dead tree branch hanging over a house or black ice on the road.
Risk – Something that increases the chance of a loss. Driving a car in the rain is a risk because it can increase the chance of an accident occurring.
Artisan – A customer who is a craftsman or skilled worker and using their vehicle at their job to carry tools, or deliver goods.