Entries
Under "P"
Package
policy - Any combination of insuring agreements that
combines property and casualty coverages. Homeowners, business
owners, and garage policies are examples.
Paid
losses - The losses that have been paid for a claim.
Pair
and set clause - Clause that stipulates that partial
loss to a pair or set of items will be valued in terms of
the lost item, not on the basis of reduced value of the
pair or set.
Partial
loss - A property loss that is less than a total loss.
See Constructive total loss.
Partnership
- A business model in which two or more individuals join
together to conduct business and share profit and losses.
Commercial insurance policies usually differentiate in the
"Who Is Insured" section between corporations,
partnerships, and other business models. Therefore, the
type of model being insured is important.
Pay-at-the-pump
- A device for making sure all motorists are insured; the
theory being that premiums for basic liability coverage
could be collected through "taxes" at the gasoline
pump in a relatively painless manner, thus eliminating the
uninsured motorist.
Payment
bond - Sometimes also called a "labor and materials
bond," this bond guarantees that bills owed by the
contractor will be paid as they come due. The agreement
may be incorporated into the performance bond.
PD
- A shorthand expression for "property damage."
Peak
season endorsement - Instead of buying insurance amounts
reflecting values at the height of inventory, some enterprises
are able to forecast times when values will be at their
peak and use this endorsement to increase the amount of
insurance during that specific interval.
"Pen,"
The, see Managing General Agent (MGA).
Per
occurrence/per loss excess reinsurance treaty - An agreement
under which losses above a certain dollar amount are ceded
to the reinsurer, who is responsible for all losses from
any one exposure above this amount up to the reinsurance
limit. The retention is expressed as an amount incurred
per occurrence. An occurrence may be one hurricane, one
flood, or one accident that results in injuries to multiple
people.
Per
risk excess reinsurance treaty - Similar to a per occurrence/per
loss excess treaty except in the matter of the retention.
The retention applies separately to each subject of insurance.
Performance
bond - A bond that guarantees the property owner (the
"obligee") that the contractor with the winning
bid on a job will perform as promised and on time.
Peril
- A potential cause of loss.
Perils
of the sea - Somewhat akin to open perils on land, the
term refers to any potential cause of loss derived from
shipment on a seagoing vessel.
Period
of restoration - The period of time following a loss
that is necessary to restore a business or organization
to a pre-loss condition.
Personal
articles floater - Before the advent of packaged forms
and broad coverages, households commonly had fire insurance
on dwelling and personal property with the possible addition
of extended coverage. The personal articles floater is an
inland marine form that was used by the affluent for scheduling
open perils coverage for various articles and classes of
valuable personal property. A homeowners endorsement accomplishes
the same thing today and the personal articles floater is
no longer widely written.
Personal
auto policy - The form currently promulgated by Insurance
Services Office (ISO) for coverage of personal auto liability
and physical damage exposures.
Personal
injury - Distinguished from "bodily injury,"
this term relates to injury inflicted by way of false arrest,
invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, and so on. It
is written as Coverage B of the commercial general liability
forms and as homeowners Coverage E.
Personal
Injury Protection (PIP) - The section of an auto policy
in a no-fault state that responds to physical injury, loss
of income, etc., of the insured regardless of fault.
Personal
liability insurance - Insurance for individuals or members
of a household offering protection against claims by third
parties (outsiders) alleging bodily injury or property damage
due to negligence. See also Premises medical payments.
Personal
lines - Insurance covering the liability and property
damage exposures of private individuals and their households.
Contrast with Commercial lines.
Personal
property - Term used in insurance to distinguish chattels
from real property.
Physical
Hazard - A hazard that arises from the material, structural,
or operational features of the risk itself apart from the
persons owning or managing it.
Physicians
and surgeons professional liability insurance, see Professional
liability.
Plate
glass coverage - Provides "special" protection,
except for the perils of war, nuclear reaction, and fire.
(Fire is covered under the building policy.) This coverage
is for full replacement cost and covers the expense of repairing
frames, installing temporary plates, or boarding up openings.
Policy
year - Unique to the insurance business, this is a means
of cost accumulation in which the aggregate transactions
of all policies becoming effective in a given year determine
the financial performance of those policies. Policyholder,
see Insured.
Policyholders’
surplus - The amount of money available to an insurer
to meet its obligations to its policyholders, after subtracting
liabilities.
Pollution
liability insurance - Coverage for bodily injury or
property damage caused by a "pollution incident."
Insurance Services Office has two forms, one limited to
on-site clean up of pollution spills.
Pool
- An organization in which insurers cover certain types
of risks as a group and share premiums, expenses and losses.
Pools are often used to underwrite larger risks.
Portfolio
- All of an insurer’s in-force policies and outstanding
losses, respecting described segments of its business.
Power-of-attorney
- Commonly used in bonding, this document conveys authority
for the individual(s) named on it to execute bonds and other
legal documents.
Premises
- Generally, a piece of land with a building or buildings
upon it.
Premises
and operations liability - Once known as owners, landlords,
and tenants legal liability, or as manufacturers and contractors
liability, depending on the business’s activity, the
term refers to the liability exposure of business entities
to third parties (customers, guests, and passers by) who
may become injured or have property damaged through the
negligent acts of the business persons, their agents, or
employees. Coverage of this exposure is by way of the commercial
general liability policy. Contrast with Products and completed
operations liability.
Premises
and operations medical payments - Bodily injury rather
than liability is the trigger for this coverage. Sometimes
referred to as "customer good will insurance,"
it is a relatively inexpensive addition to the commercial
general liability policy and an automatic feature of personal
liability protection. Since it responds to injury of customers
or guests without regard to fault, it is sometimes effective
in heading off a potentially much more serious liability
claim against the owner or tenant of the business premises
or private residence.
Premium
- Term for the amount of money the insured pays the insurer
to purchase insurance.
Pressure
vessel - In boiler and machinery insurance, a type of
container designed to hold liquids or gasses under pressure.
Types are categorized as fired (such as a boiler) and unfired
(such as an oxygen or hydrogen tank).
Price-Anderson
Act of 1957 - Federal law that requires evidence of
financial responsibility for all privately owned nuclear
reactors, spent fuel reprocessing plants, and for fuel fabrication
plants licensed to process five or more kilograms of plutonium.
Primary
insurance - The first policy or coverage to apply. Contrast
with Excess insurance.
Principal
- Used in suretyship, it refers to the individual whose
performance is guaranteed.
Prior
Approval - Indicates that an insurer must have rate
or form changes formally approved by the state insurance
department before it can use them Private Passenger Automobile
- A four wheeled motor vehicle, subject to state registration
laws, designed to carry passengers (such as a car, station
wagon, SUV, or van) on public roads.
Pro
rata cancellation, see Cancellation.
Producer
- A term identifying the insurance agent, field rep, or
other employee who sells insurance.
Product
recall insurance - Coverage for the costs of recalling
a product known, or suspected to be, defective.
Products
and completed operations liability - The liability exposure
of the manufacturer whose malfunctioning products may cause
injury or property damage or of the contractor whose failed
structures or projects may do the same. Coverage of the
exposure is a feature of the commercial general liability
policy. The insurance does not in any way constitute a guarantee
of either the insured’s product or work. Contrast with
Premesis and operations liability.
Professional
Insurance Agents (PIA) - Trade association of insurance
agents.
Professional
liability - A form of errors and omissions insurance,
(sometimes called "malpractice" coverage for errors
alleged against those in the healing and legal professions).
Arbitrarily it seems, "errors and omissions" is
the term applied most often to insurance covering liability
for mistakes in matters affecting property, i.e., coverage
for "Insurance Agents E&O," "Architects
E&O" while "professional liability" is
used in reference to coverages such as "Druggists Professional
Liability," "Physicians and Surgeons Professional
Liability," and "Lawyers Professional Liability."
Promulgate
- To develop, file, publish, and put into effect insurance
rates or forms. Proof of loss - Following a loss, a formal
statement given by an insured to the insurer that includes
details of the loss such as the original cost of damaged
or destroyed property.
Pro-rata
or proportional reinsurance - A certain portion of every
risk is ceded under a proportional agreement. The insurer
and reinsurer agree to share a portion of all insurance,
premium, and losses in the same amount. The insurer is paid
a commission for ceding the risk portion and premium to
the reinsurer.
Prospect
- A potential buyer of an insurance policy or program.
Protection
and Indemnity (P&I) insurance - The nautical equivalent
of bodily injury and property damage liability.
Proximate
cause - That event which, in an unbroken sequence, results
in direct physical loss under an insurance policy. For example,
wind is the proximate cause of loss when a windstorm blows
out a window that in turn topples a lit candle that sets
fire to a structure and burns it down.
Public
adjuster - An individual or member of a firm who contracts
with private parties to aid with the preparation of loss
statements and presentation to insurers. Contrast with Independent
adjuster.
Public
liability insurance - General term for any liability
coverage for claims brought against the insured by a third
party or member of the public.
Public
official bond - A "performance bond" for holders
of public office.
Punitive
damages - An award for damages above and beyond the
requirements for compensating third parties for injury or
damage. As the word implies the award is meant to punish
the offender. Most states and territories permit punitive
damages awards to be covered by liability insurance.
Pure
risk - The only consideration is the possibility of
loss or no loss, but not making a profit. Contrast with
Speculative risk. |
