IA Property & Casualty key terms

The state agency, led by the Commissioner of Insurance, that licenses insurers and producers in Iowa, reviews policy forms and rates, examines company finances, and handles consumer complaints about insurance practices.

Written authority from the Iowa Insurance Division permitting a person to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance for the lines of authority shown on the license, such as property, casualty, life, or health.

An insurer's formal notice to the Iowa Insurance Division that a licensed producer will represent it; the producer may not submit business for that insurer until the appointment is in effect.

Periodic approved coursework a licensed Iowa producer must complete within each renewal cycle to keep the license active, covering insurance content, state rules, and ethics.

Conduct banned by Iowa insurance law, including misrepresenting policy terms, using misleading advertising, coercing buyers, or failing to settle claims promptly and in good faith.

A relationship in which the insured would suffer genuine financial loss from damage to or loss of the insured property or person, required for an insurance contract to be enforceable.

The principle that a claim payment should restore the insured to roughly the same financial position held before the loss, without creating a profit from the loss.

The specific cause of a loss, such as fire, windstorm, theft, or collision; property policies list the perils they cover, and the insured generally must show a covered peril caused the damage.

A condition that makes a loss more likely or more severe, such as a frayed wire, icy steps, or careless housekeeping habits.

The insurer's right, after paying a covered claim, to pursue the party that caused the loss and recover the amount paid, taking over the insured's legal claim.

An accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same harmful conditions, that causes injury or damage during the policy period; the coverage trigger on occurrence liability forms.

A liability policy that responds to claims first made against the insured during the policy period, no matter when the injury happened, subject to any retroactive date in the policy.

A property clause requiring the insured to carry limits equal to a stated percentage of the property's value; if the limit is lower at the time of loss, the claim is reduced proportionally.

The cost to replace damaged property with new property of similar kind and quality, minus depreciation; a common default valuation method in property policies.

A valuation method that pays to repair or rebuild damaged property with new materials of comparable kind and quality, without subtracting depreciation, usually up to the policy limits.

The dominant, efficient cause that sets a loss in motion without a break in the chain of events; used to decide coverage when several forces, some excluded, combine to produce damage.

Failure to use the care a reasonable person would use in similar circumstances; proving it generally requires a duty, a breach of that duty, causation, and actual damages.

Legal responsibility for harm imposed without any showing of carelessness, commonly applied to defective products and to harm caused by dangerous animals or hazardous activities.

The liability insurer's obligation to provide and pay for legal defense of covered claims against the insured; it is broader than the duty to pay damages and applies even to suits without merit.

A homeowners policy that insures the dwelling and other structures against risk of direct physical loss, while personal property is protected only for the perils named in the form.

The homeowners section that insures the house and structures attached to it, such as an attached garage or deck, at the residence premises described in the declarations.

The homeowners section that insures household contents and personal belongings both at the residence and, within stated limits, while away from the residence premises.

Homeowners coverage that pays the added cost of temporary housing and meals when a covered loss makes the home uninhabitable, plus lost fair rental value if the home was rented.

Homeowners coverage that pays reasonable medical bills for people injured on the insured location, or injured by the insured's activities, without regard to who was at fault.

The standard policy for private passenger cars owned by individuals and families, combining liability, medical payments, uninsured motorist, and physical damage coverages.

Auto coverage that pays the insured's damages for injury caused by a hit-and-run driver, a driver with no liability insurance, or a driver whose limits are too low to pay the loss.

Auto physical damage coverage for damage to the insured vehicle caused by hitting another object or by overturning, paid regardless of fault and subject to the chosen deductible.

Auto physical damage coverage for losses to the insured vehicle from causes other than collision or overturn, such as fire, theft, vandalism, hail, flood, or hitting an animal.

The commercial property form that insures commercial buildings, the business's own personal property, and personal property of others at a described location, each with its own limit.

Commercial property coverage that replaces lost net income and continuing normal expenses, such as payroll and rent, while operations are interrupted by a covered property loss.

A package policy for small and mid-sized businesses that combines commercial property and general liability in one contract, typically including business income and limited medical payments.

Forms attached to commercial property policies that set the breadth of coverage - basic, broad, or special (open peril) - by listing covered perils and the exclusions that apply.

A liability form covering a business for bodily injury, property damage, personal and advertising injury, and medical payments arising from premises, operations, and products, written on either an occurrence or a claims-made basis.

CGL coverage for bodily injury or property damage occurring away from the insured's premises and arising out of products sold or work completed, carrying its own separate aggregate limit.

The maximum a liability insurer will pay for all covered claims combined during a policy period, separate from the per-occurrence limit that caps any single claim.

A person or organization given insured status by endorsement to another party's liability policy, typically for liability arising out of the named insured's premises, operations, or work.

The commercial auto form insuring vehicles used in business, using covered auto symbols to designate which categories - owned, hired, or non-owned autos - receive liability and physical damage coverage.

Coverage that pays state-mandated benefits - medical care, disability income, rehabilitation, and death benefits - to employees injured on the job, regardless of fault, and bars employee lawsuits against the employer.

The part of a workers compensation policy covering the employer's legal liability for work-related injury claims by employees that are not payable under the state benefit schedule.

A policy that adds liability limits above the insured's underlying auto, general liability, and employers liability coverage, and can drop down to cover gaps in those underlying policies.