Insurance resources
Understand it before you buy it.
Guides written for people who are not insurance professionals, and a glossary for the words that show up on every quote. Read first, then talk to a licensed agent with the right questions ready.
- Guides
- 8
- Glossary terms
- 34
Guides
Start with the fundamentals
Each guide covers one decision in depth and links to the coverage it applies to.
Insurance basics 6 min read
How to read an insurance quote
Quotes from different carriers rarely line up. Here is how to compare limits, deductibles, exclusions, and premium so the cheapest number is not the only thing you see.
Insurance basics 4 min
Independent agents, captive agents, and direct writers
Who you buy from shapes what you can buy. A plain explanation of the three ways insurance is sold and what each means for your options and service.
Personal & property 7 min
How much auto insurance do you actually need?
State minimums are a floor, not a recommendation. Learn what each auto coverage does and how to size liability, collision, and uninsured motorist limits to your life.
Personal & property 8 min
Homeowners insurance, coverage by coverage
Dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments: what each section of a homeowners policy does and where the common gaps are.
By topic
Browse guides by what you are insuring
Insurance basics
How policies, quotes, and agents actually work.
Personal & property
Auto, home, renters, toys, and umbrella coverage.
Business & commercial
Protecting operations, people, and property.
Life, health & Medicare
Income protection, medical coverage, and retirement.
Glossary
The words on your quote, defined
Search or scroll. Terms link to the coverage where they matter most.
34 terms
A
- Actual cash value (ACV)
- The cost to replace damaged property minus depreciation for age and wear. Pays less than replacement cost.
- Additional insured
- A person or business added to your liability policy by endorsement so that it also protects them for claims arising from your work.
- General Liability
- Admitted carrier
- An insurer licensed by the state, whose rates and forms are regulated and whose policies are backed by the state guaranty fund.
- Aggregate limit
- The most a policy will pay for all claims combined during the policy period.
- Annuity
- A contract with an insurer that converts a lump sum or series of payments into guaranteed income, immediately or at a future date.
- AnnuitiesFixed Annuities
B
- Binder
- A temporary agreement from the carrier that coverage is in force before the formal policy is issued.
- Business interruption
- Coverage that replaces lost income and pays continuing expenses while a business recovers from a covered property loss.
- Business InterruptionBusiness Owners Policy (BOP)
C
- Cash value
- The savings component of a permanent life policy that grows over time and can be borrowed against or withdrawn.
- Whole LifeUniversal Life
- Certificate of insurance (COI)
- A one-page summary of your coverage provided to clients or landlords as evidence that policies are in force.
- Claims-made policy
- A liability policy that covers claims made during the policy period, regardless of when the incident occurred, subject to a retroactive date. Common for professional and cyber liability.
- Professional LiabilityCyber Liability
- Coinsurance
- In health insurance, the percentage of a covered cost you pay after the deductible. In property insurance, a clause that penalizes underinsuring a building.
D
- Deductible
- The amount you pay out of pocket on a claim before the insurer pays. May be a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the insured value.
E
- Elimination period
- The waiting period after a disability begins before benefits start paying. Longer elimination periods lower the premium.
- Disability IncomeLong-Term Care
- Endorsement
- A written amendment that adds, removes, or changes coverage on a policy. Also called a rider.
- Exclusion
- A specific peril, property, or situation the policy states it will not cover.
- Experience modification (Ex-Mod)
- A factor applied to workers compensation premium based on your claims history compared to similar employers. Below 1.0 earns a credit.
- Workers' Compensation
G
- Guaranteed issue
- Coverage offered without health questions or underwriting, usually with lower limits and a waiting period.
- Final Expense
I
- Indemnity
- The principle that insurance restores you to your financial position before the loss, no better and no worse.
- Inland marine
- Coverage for property that moves or is in transit, such as tools, equipment, and goods, despite the nautical name.
- Inland Marine
L
- Liability
- Legal responsibility for injury or damage to others. Liability coverage pays those claims and the cost of defending them.
M
- Medigap
- A standardized Medicare Supplement policy sold by private insurers to pay costs Original Medicare does not.
- Medicare-Related Products
O
- Occurrence policy
- A liability policy that covers incidents that happen during the policy period no matter when the claim is filed. Standard for general liability.
- General Liability
P
- Per-occurrence limit
- The most a policy will pay for any single claim or incident.
- Premium
- The price you pay for the policy, usually quoted annually and payable monthly, quarterly, or in full.
R
- Replacement cost
- The cost to repair or replace damaged property with new materials of like kind and quality, with no deduction for depreciation.
- Retroactive date
- On a claims-made policy, the earliest date an incident can have occurred and still be covered.
- Rider
- An optional add-on to a life or health policy that provides extra benefits, such as waiver of premium or accelerated death benefit.
S
- Scheduled property
- Items listed individually on a policy with their own limit, usually at appraised value. Used for jewelry, art, and collectibles.
- Valuable Articles Insurance
- Subrogation
- The insurer’s right to recover what it paid on your claim from the party that caused the loss.
- Surplus lines
- Coverage from a non-admitted carrier for risks the standard market will not write. Not backed by the state guaranty fund and subject to surplus lines tax.
- Excess & Surplus Lines
U
- Umbrella policy
- Liability coverage that sits above your auto, home, or business policies and adds $1 million or more of protection.
- Personal UmbrellaCommercial Umbrella
- Underwriting
- The insurer’s process of evaluating a risk to decide whether to offer coverage and at what price.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM)
- Auto coverage that pays your injuries and, in some states, vehicle damage when the at-fault driver has no or insufficient insurance.
- Auto Insurance
W
- Waiver of subrogation
- An endorsement preventing your insurer from pursuing a specified party for a loss they caused. Commonly required in contracts.
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