I discovered that despite the importance of insurance to our lives, many people are still finding it difficult understanding simple insurance terms when talking to their brokers about insurance. As with every profession, insurance has so many industry jargon that every adult should know and understand, especially to help them when making the serious insurance discussion and decision.
Below are everyday insurance terms used by insurance professionals when discussing on the subject and in your transaction when taking out a policy.
Accident Benefits: This is insurance coverage, providing cover for the insured injured in an accident.
All Perils: This is an insurance policy that combines a combination of collision and comprehensive coverage and covers you in the event of damages meeting the set criteria.
Attendant Care: This is an insurance cover, covering the cost of caregiver when involved in an accident and unable to care for you.
Autoplus: This is a detailed record of insurance policies and claims; it contains million of insurance claim cases.
Caregiver, Housekeeping and Home Maintenance: This is an insurance cover for an accident victim to pay other people handling these activities in case the insured is unable to do them due to an accident.
Collision Coverage: This is an insurance policy, which covers repair of your vehicle if you cause an accident or damaged your car as a result of a weather-related accident.
Comprehensive Coverage: This is an insurance policy covering a broad range of covers for a vehicle such as fire, theft, damage animals, etc.
Death and Funeral: A part of insurance accident cover to cover for the insured’s funeral expenses when killed in an accident.
Dependent Care: This is a part of accident insurance cover to cover the insured’s dependents care costs when involved in an accident.
Direct Compensation Property Damage: This is an insurance cover which demands all claim handling is processed by your insurer when you are not at fault in an accident.
First Party: This is the name given to an insurance policyholder.
Income Replacement: This is an insurance cover for a person with a disability to cover the loss of income, when unable to work again due to the accident.
Indexation Benefits: This is a part of an accident cover, which adjusts the insured compensation according to the rate of inflation in case of permanent disability because of the crash.
Insurance Agent: This is an insurance professional, licensed by FSCO, who works directly with an insurance company to sell their policy to prospective clients.
Insurance Broker: Another Insurance professional, licensed by RIBO, to sell insurance policies for several insurers. They work in brokerages, where insurance policies are sold and maintained by insurance companies in Canada.
Liability Insurance: This is an insurance policy that provides cover for your legal expenses when sued.
Medical & Rehabilitation: This is an insurance cover, covering medical and rehabilitation expenses when involved in an accident.
MVR: This stands for Motor Vehicle Record, which is a database containing driver’s license dates and driving infractions.
Third Party Coverage: This is liability coverage against possible lawsuits filed by a third party, involving the insured being the first party and insurer being the second party to the insurance contract.
Third Party: This is a policyholder who is a beneficiary of third-party coverage.
Vin-Number: This stands for Vehicle Identification Number, which is your car’s serial number for identification purposes.
Conclusion
These insurance terms are just a few out of many such terms you will hear from time to time when talking insurance. Your effort to learn and be familiar with them will give you an edge when negotiating your insurance cover next time.