OR Property & Casualty key terms

An insurance company that holds a license from Oregon regulators to sell insurance in the state, and is therefore subject to Oregon's solvency, rate, and market conduct rules.

Coverage placed with a nonadmitted insurer when licensed carriers decline the risk. Oregon requires placement through a specially licensed surplus lines producer and notice to the policyholder.

The credential Oregon issues to a person who meets education requirements and passes the qualifying exam, allowing that person to sell, solicit, or negotiate the lines of insurance named on it.

An insurer's notice to the state that a licensed producer may act as its agent. A producer generally cannot write business for a company that has not appointed them.

Credits a licensed producer must earn during each renewal period, including insurance and ethics hours in Oregon, to keep the license active and stay current on rules and coverage changes.

A statutory safety net that pays covered claims against admitted insurers that become insolvent, up to limits set in Oregon law, funded by assessments on member insurers.

A residual market program offering basic property insurance to Oregon owners who cannot find coverage in the voluntary market, often because of the building's location, age, or condition.

Giving a buyer part of the producer's commission, or any other valuable inducement not stated in the policy, to win the sale. Oregon treats it as an illegal unfair trade practice.

Misrepresenting or omitting facts about a policy to persuade a policyholder to drop existing coverage and buy a replacement, usually to generate new commission. Prohibited as an unfair trade practice.

Prohibited claims conduct such as failing to investigate promptly, denying a claim without a reasonable basis, or offering far less than the claim is worth. Regulators can penalize insurers for these acts.

The chance that a loss will occur. Insurance handles pure risk, where outcomes are loss or no loss, and generally not speculative risk, where either loss or gain is possible.

The actual cause of a loss, such as fire, wind, theft, or collision. Property and casualty policies state which perils they cover, either by naming them or through broad open-peril wording.

A condition that makes a loss more likely or more severe. Physical hazards exist in the property itself, while moral and morale hazards come from the attitude or conduct of people.

A financial stake in the person or property insured such that a loss would cause real harm. It must exist at policy inception for property coverage and at the time of loss for life insurance.

The idea that insurance should restore the insured to roughly the same financial position as before the loss, no better and no worse, by limiting recovery to the value of the loss.

A property valuation method equal to replacement cost minus depreciation. It pays what the damaged item was worth at the time of loss, not what a brand-new one would cost.

A clause requiring the insured to carry coverage equal to a stated percentage of the property's value, often 80 percent, or face a reduced claim payment proportional to the shortfall.

The insurer's right, after paying a claim, to pursue the party that caused the loss and recover what it paid. It helps control premiums and prevents the insured from recovering twice.

Temporary written evidence that coverage is in force, issued while the formal policy is being prepared. It is subject to the same terms the final policy will contain.

Failure to use the care a reasonable person would use in similar circumstances, resulting in harm to another. Liability insurance responds when the insured is legally responsible for such harm.

The most common homeowners policy. It covers the dwelling and other structures on an open-peril basis and covers personal property for the broad list of named perils.

A renters policy. It insures the tenant's personal property for named perils and provides liability and loss-of-use coverage, but covers no part of the building itself.

A condominium owners policy. It covers interior building items and personal property, fills gaps left by the association's master policy, and includes liability and loss of use.

Pays the extra cost of temporary housing, meals, and similar items when a covered loss makes the home uninhabitable, usually limited by a time period or a percentage of the dwelling limit.

Pays the added cost of rebuilding to current building codes, such as required upgrades, demolition of undamaged portions, or higher construction standards, which a basic replacement cost policy would not cover.

Policy wording that protects the lender's interest: the lender receives loss payments to the extent of its loan balance and must be notified of cancellation, even if the borrower caused the loss.

A vacant building has no occupants and little or no contents; an unoccupied one holds furnishings but no people. Both raise loss potential, and policies often restrict coverage after a set number of days.

Coverage for rising water, which standard homeowners and commercial property policies exclude. It is usually written through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer.

Pays the income a business loses while operations are shut down by a covered property loss, along with continuing expenses, during the time it takes to restore the property.

Separately listed high-value items such as jewelry, art, or cameras, insured for a stated amount with broader perils and often no deductible instead of relying on the policy's internal limits.

The core business liability policy. It covers third-party bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury arising from the insured's premises, operations, and products.

Two liability policy triggers. An occurrence policy covers injury or damage that happens during the policy period, however late the claim; a claims-made policy covers claims first made while it is in force.

The part of liability coverage that responds to injury or damage caused by the insured's product or completed work away from the premises, after the work has been finished.

Liability coverage for non-bodily offenses such as libel, slander, wrongful eviction, and infringement of advertising ideas, committed in the course of the insured's business.

Pays reasonable medical expenses for others injured on the insured's premises or by the insured's operations, regardless of fault, up to a modest limit and without a lawsuit being filed.

Coverage sitting above underlying auto, general liability, and employers liability policies. It pays after those limits are exhausted and may drop down for some exposures the underlying policies omit.

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

No-fault auto coverage that pays the insured's own medical bills, lost wages, and similar expenses after an accident regardless of fault. Oregon auto policies are required to include it.

Statutory coverage that pays medical costs and wage replacement for employees injured on the job, plus employer liability, in exchange for the employee giving up the right to sue the employer.

A doctrine that reduces an injured party's damages in proportion to their own share of fault; some states bar recovery entirely once the claimant's fault reaches a set percentage.