Long-tail Liability
One where an injury or other harm takes time to become known and a claim may be separated from the circumstances that caused it by as many as 25 years or more. Some examples: exposure to asbestos, which sometimes results in a lung disease called asbestos; exposure to coal dust, which might cause black lung disease; or use of certain drugs that may cause cancer or birth defects. These long-tail liabilities became very expensive for many corporations in the 1970s and 1980s, also causing problems for insurers because it was unclear when the situation that gave rise to the claim happened and who should pay the claim. One theory, the MANIFESTATION/INJURY THEORY, states that the insurer is responsible whenever the disease is diagnosed. The other view, the OCCURRENCE/INJURY THEORY, states that the insurer must pay only when the person is injured.
Popular Insurance Terms
Same as term Mortality Table: chart showing rate of death at each age in terms of number of deaths per thousand. ...
Section of ocean marine policy making it an obligation of the insured to take specific measures to limit losses to ship or cargo when a mishap occurs. Expenses incurred to limit physical ...
Retirement plan for an individual based on a single contract with a benefit based on current earnings, as if they will remain static until normal retirement age. As the earnings of the plan ...
Coverage in excess of that provided by a basic hospital medical insurance plan. After the limits of coverage have been exhausted under a basic plan, major medical then covers medical ...
Surcharge, in retrospective rating of property and liability insurance, added to the basic premium rate charged to reflect fixed cost of adjusting or settling losses. ...
Employee individual retirement account funded by an employer or a self-employed person. (Also known as SEP-IRA.) Differs from a pension plan in that contributions are immediately vested and ...
Sum the insurance company is legally obligated to pay an insured for losses incurred. ...
Retrospective rating system with basic, minimum, and maximum premium rates listed in manual tables. Calculation of an individual premium involves adjusting the basic premium for appropriate ...
Party covered by an insurance policy. In life insurance policies there is one designated insured, the person so named; or a policy can be issued to numerous insureds on a group basis. The ...
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