Insurance terms, explained
Plain definitions of the terms that appear on a policy, grouped by the kind of policy they show up on. Each one describes what the term means, not what to do about it.
Auto insurance
5 terms
- Bodily injury liability
- Pays for injuries you cause to other people in an at-fault accident, up to your policy limits. It does not pay for your own injuries.
- Collision
- Pays to repair or replace your own vehicle after a crash, regardless of fault, minus your deductible.
- Comprehensive
- Pays for damage to your vehicle from non-crash events like theft, fire, hail, or a fallen tree, minus your deductible.
- Med-pay
- Medical payments coverage: pays medical bills for you and your passengers after an accident, regardless of fault, up to a set limit.
- Uninsured motorist
- Covers your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Many policies also cover an underinsured driver whose limits are too low.
Home insurance
6 terms
- Actual cash value
- Pays replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear, so older items are paid at less than what it costs to replace them.
- Coverage A
- The dwelling limit: the most your policy will pay to rebuild the main structure of your home.
- Hurricane deductible
- A separate, usually percentage-based deductible that applies to hurricane damage, often larger than your standard deductible.
- Law and ordinance
- Helps pay the extra cost of rebuilding to current building codes after a covered loss, which a basic policy may exclude.
- Replacement cost
- Pays to repair or replace damaged property with new materials of like kind, without subtracting for age or wear.
- Water backup
- Coverage for water that backs up through sewers or drains, or overflows from a sump pump. It is a small add-on with its own limit, separate from flood.
Flood insurance
5 terms
- Base flood elevation
- The height floodwater is expected to reach in a major flood. How your home sits relative to it affects your rates.
- Building coverage
- Flood coverage for the physical structure of your home and its built-in systems.
- Contents coverage
- Flood coverage for your personal belongings. It is purchased separately from building coverage.
- Flood zone
- A FEMA map designation for an area flood risk. It affects your rates and whether a lender requires flood insurance.
- Increased cost of compliance
- Extra flood coverage that helps pay to elevate, relocate, or demolish a repeatedly flooded building to meet floodplain rules.
Umbrella insurance
2 terms
- Attachment point
- The dollar level where your umbrella policy starts paying, which sits at the top of your underlying home or auto liability limit.
- Underlying limit
- The liability limit your home or auto policy must carry before the umbrella applies. Falling below it can leave a gap.
Pet insurance
3 terms
- Annual limit
- The most your pet plan will reimburse in a policy year.
- Pre-existing condition
- A health issue that showed signs before coverage began. These are typically not covered.
- Reimbursement percentage
- The share of covered vet bills the plan pays back after your deductible, such as 70%, 80%, or 90%.
Life insurance
6 terms
- Beneficiary
- The person or entity you name to receive the death benefit.
- Cash value
- A savings component in some permanent policies that grows over time and can be borrowed against. Term policies have none.
- Contestability period
- An early window, often two years, during which the insurer can investigate and deny a claim for misstatements on the application.
- Death benefit
- The amount paid to your beneficiaries when the insured person dies, as long as the policy is in force.
- Level term
- A period during which your premium and death benefit stay the same. Premiums often rise sharply after it ends.
- Rider
- An optional add-on that changes or extends coverage, such as a waiver of premium or an accelerated death benefit.
These are general definitions. Your own policy is what governs your coverage, and the same term can be defined differently from one policy to the next. Read your own policy to see what these terms say in your document, cited to the page.