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
Health insurance contract that is renewable at the option of the insurer. On the anniversary date of the contract, the insurer has the right to decide whether or not to renew. ...
Time limit on the deferred ownership of property such that, 21 years after the property owner dies, the deferred ownership of that property terminates. ...
Discharge of electricity from the atmosphere, one of the perils covered in most fire insurance policies. ...
Federal agency that regulates commerce across state lines. The ICC does not oversee insurance, which is subject to regulation by the states according to Public Law 15, McCarran-Ferguson ...
Authority that administers state laws regulating insurance and licenses insurance companies and their agents. ...
Arrangement under which the insured pays a fixed premium to the insurance company in exchange for the total transfer of the risk to that company. ...
Approach that maintains injury or sickness begins when it is first detected by an obvious appearance. This argument is used in determining if liability insurance is afforded in a particular ...
Coverage in the event an employee is kidnapped from an insured business's premises and forced to return to aid a criminal in a theft. ...
Expenses taken out when benefits are paid. For example, a specific dollar amount is subtracted from a monthly income payment for company expenses. ...
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