Definition of "Dependent"

A person who relies on another for economic support. For insurance purposes, the following may be included:

  1. the insured's legal spouse;
  2. any unmarried children younger than a specified age who are dependent upon the insured for support (age requirements vary from plan to plan);
  3. unmarried children between specified years of age who are dependent upon the insured for support, and who are full-time students in an educational institution (age requirements vary).
A dependent child cannot be covered under more than one insured employee's plan. For example, if the husband and wife are both insured employees of different companies, coordination of benefits would determine which plan is primary and which plan is secondary. In some states, the father's plan is primary; in other states, the birthday rule would be used: the parent with the earlier birthday would have the primary plan.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Federal act composed of amendments to the Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981 and enacted to make the procedures more efficient for creating risk retention groups (capitalized, ...

Same as term Calendar Year Experience: paid loss experience for the period of time from January 1 to December 31 of a specified year (not necessarily the current year). ...

Percentage of confidence in a finding. For example, if an insurance company's total loss reserves should be $10,000,000 in order to attain an 80% confidence level that enough money will be ...

Care in a sanitarium, nursing home, or other facility designed to provide custodial care on behalf of the mental and physical well-being of the patient. The cost may or may not be provided ...

Sample of n elements selected from a population of A? elements in such a way that the sample has essentially the same characteristics as the population. The random sample serves as the ...

Classification of occupations according to the degree of risk inherent in that occupation. ...

Amount received by the policyholder if the policy is canceled, benefits are reduced, or the premium is reduced. ...

Contract sold by insurance companies that pays a monthly (quarterly, semiannual, or annual) income benefit for the life of a person (the annuitant). The annuitant can never outlive the ...

In property insurance, contract section providing for reimbursement for removal of debris resulting from an insured peril. The amount of reimbursement under the homeowners insurance policy ...

Popular Insurance Questions