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
Form of excess of loss reinsurance under which each year's reinsurance premium is determined by the amount of the cedent's excess losses for a given period of time, usually three or five ...
Private, not-for-profit-group that develops and publishes safety codes and standards relating to protection of people and property against fire. The NFPA is financed by fees for technical ...
Provision in many property insurance policies that allows an insured to pick coverage for selected perils. The choices are explosion; explosion, riot and civil commotion; explosion, riot ...
Disability in which a wage earner is forever prevented from working because of injury or illness suffered. ...
Reinsurance: surplus reinsurance contracts under which the agreement between an insurer and a re insurer is based on the ceding company's line guide, such that the amount re insured is ...
Policy owner rights under a life insurance policy, including the right to name a new beneficiary at any time and to surrender the policy for its cash value. ...
Policy that remains in full force and effect for the life of the insured, with premium payments being made for the same period. ...
Type of accounting method, in life insurance, designed to match revenues and expenses of an insurer according to principles designed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the ...
Federal law comparable to state workers compensation statutes setting out liability of railroads for work-related injuries or death of their employees. Railroad employees are not covered by ...
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