Insurers
Reinsurance Companies
(a primary insurer) enters into an agreement with another insurance company to accept some of its risk.
rating organizations
A.M. Best Company Conning & Company Demotech Fitch Ratings Moody's Standard and Poor's Weiss Ratings
foreign insurer
Any company that does business in a state other than the one in which it is domiciled
Government Insurance
National Flood Insurance, Medicare, Social Security, Crop Insurance, FDIC, workers comp, unemployment
ceding company or cedent
The insurer seeking to transfer some of its risk
admitted insurer
a company that is licensed to do business in the state or country in which the insured exposure is located.
unauthorized insurer
a real or fictitious organization that has not been approved by the department of insurance in the jurisdiction where it wants to sell insurance.
exclusive agency system
agent represents only one company or group of companies.
independent agency system
agents sell insurance on a commission or fee for one or more insurers. The maintain ownership, use and control of policies.
fraternal benefit society
an organization of people who usually share a common ethnic, religious, or vocational affiliation.
reciprocal insurer
an unincorporated group of persons or organizations that exchange risks for the purpose of paying the cost of retained losses and purchasing reinsurance.
Insurers
another name for insurance companies. Two most common types: stock and mutual ins co's.
Self-Insurance Groups
companies that are willing and financially able to retain certain risks and to self-fund for that purpose.
nonadmitted insurer
company that is not licensed to do business in a certain state. insurers typically provide insurance coverages that otherwise would not be available because the exposure is hard to insure or the applicant requires especially high insurance limits.
Private insurance
forms of insurance provided by privately owned insurers
Mutual insurance companies
has no stockholders. The policy owners are the people and organizations who own insurance policies
insurance commissioner
has the authority to conduct hearings; stop insurers, agents, and brokers from engaging in unfair or unethical activity; or suspend an insurer's, agent's, or broker's license to transact business.
insurance brokers
independent contractors who represent the insurance applicant or policyholder. They assist the insurance applicant by finding coverage.
reinsurer
insurer accepting some of the risk being transferred
domestic insurers
insurers doing business in the state in which they are located
risk retention group
insurers that issue policies to their members and cover their members' liability risks. They retain risk.
captive insurance company
is designed to cover the risks of the "parent" organization or organizations that own it. sometimes considered a sophisticated form of self-insurance.
insurance agents
legally represent insurance companies
domicile
location of insurance company's home office
direct marketing
market insurance through employees of the insurer rather than independent contractor
Lloyd's of London
not an insurance company. Rather, it is an association of individuals and companies that provide insurance. it offers a forum for large companies and brokers to find insurers.
stock insurance companies
owned by stockholders who purchase shares of stock as an investment. If profitable, they may pay dividends to their stockholders.
surplus lines broker
places excess and surplus lines insurance coverage with nonadmitted insurers. provide insurance coverages that otherwise would not be available.
excess insurance and surplus lines insurance
property and liability insurance not available from an admitted insurer.
purchasing groups
purchase insurance from an insurer that issues the policies and serves as the risk bearer.