OK Property & Casualty key terms

State agency headed by the elected Insurance Commissioner that licenses insurers, producers, and adjusters, reviews policy forms and rates, and enforces the Oklahoma Insurance Code.

Written authorization from the Oklahoma Insurance Department permitting an insurer to transact specified lines of insurance in the state; an insurer that lacks one is nonadmitted.

Nonadmitted insurer that may write Oklahoma coverage only through a licensed surplus lines broker when admitted insurers decline the risk; its policies are not protected by the state guaranty association.

Offering a buyer anything of value not stated in the policy, such as a share of the agent's commission, as an inducement to purchase insurance; an unfair trade practice prohibited in Oklahoma.

Statutory entity that pays certain unpaid claims of policyholders of insolvent admitted property and casualty insurers, subject to per-claim limits and deductibles.

A financial stake in the person or property insured such that a loss would cause the insured real monetary harm; in property insurance it must exist at the time of loss.

Principle that insurance should restore the insured to roughly the same financial position held before a loss, without allowing the insured to profit from the loss.

The insurer's right, after paying a covered claim, to stand in the insured's shoes and recover the amount paid from the party responsible for the loss.

The tendency for people with higher-than-average risk to seek or keep insurance more eagerly than low-risk people, which pushes rates upward unless underwriting controls it.

Doctrine that both insured and insurer must deal honestly, disclosing all material facts and avoiding concealment, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty.

The cost to replace damaged property with new property of similar kind and quality, minus depreciation; used when a policy settles losses on a depreciated basis.

Settlement basis that pays the cost to repair or replace damaged property with new property of like kind and quality, without deducting for depreciation.

Property provision requiring the insured to carry a limit at least equal to a stated percentage of the property's value, or claims are reduced by the ratio of the limit carried to the limit required.

Provision protecting a lender with a financial interest in insured property, giving the lender notice of cancellation and the right to receive loss payments.

Homeowners form covering the dwelling and other structures on an open-peril basis and personal property for broad named perils; the most common form for owner-occupied homes.

Homeowners coverage that pays additional living expenses or fair rental value when a covered loss makes the residence unfit to live in.

Endorsement listing specific valuables such as jewelry, furs, or art with their own limits, often broader perils, and typically no deductible.

Property-only policy for dwellings such as rental houses or homes ineligible for homeowners coverage; it provides no personal liability or medical payments coverage.

Commercial property form insuring the building, business personal property, and personal property of others at a described location, with optional coinsurance and valuation provisions.

Commercial coverage that replaces lost net income and continuing expenses during restoration and pays extra costs to keep operating after a covered loss.

Package policy for eligible small and mid-sized businesses that combines commercial property and general liability, often with business income, under simplified forms and rating.

Open-peril commercial property form that covers risks of direct physical loss unless the loss is specifically excluded or limited.

Failure to exercise the degree of care a reasonable person would use, established by showing duty, breach of that duty, proximate cause, and actual damages.

Legal responsibility one party bears for the negligent acts of another, such as an employer's liability for acts of employees within the scope of employment.

An accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to harmful conditions, that results in bodily injury or property damage during the policy period.

The most a liability policy will pay for all covered claims combined during a single policy period, regardless of the number of occurrences.

Auto coverage that pays the insured's damages when an at-fault driver has no liability insurance or limits too low to cover the loss.

No-fault auto coverage in Oklahoma that pays medical expenses, lost income, and similar costs for the insured and passengers after an accident regardless of who caused it.

Auto liability limit stated as one dollar amount that pays all bodily injury and property damage from a single accident, instead of separate per-person and per-accident limits.

A vehicle the named insured does not own, lease, hire, or borrow but uses in its business, such as an employee's personal car used to run company errands.

Numbered entries on the business auto declarations that designate which autos the policy covers, ranging from any auto to specifically scheduled vehicles.

Liability form covering bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury arising from premises, operations, and products, written on an occurrence or claims-made basis.

Date shown on a claims-made liability policy before which no occurrence is covered, no matter when the claim is later reported.

Policy providing limits above underlying liability policies, and on a true umbrella form, dropping down to cover some losses those underlying policies exclude.

Rule that workers compensation benefits are an injured worker's sole remedy against the employer, generally barring a negligence lawsuit over a work-related injury.

Workers compensation benefit replacing lost wages while an injured worker is unable to work at all but is expected to recover.

Number calculated from an employer's past losses compared with expected losses for its classification, used to adjust workers compensation premium up or down.

Part Two of the workers compensation policy, covering the employer's legal liability for work-related injury claims that fall outside the statutory benefits system.