Glossary Of Insurance Terms - Ohio Insurance Institute

Glossary Of Insurance Terms
(Rev. 04/07)
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Valuation:
The process of determining a company’s liabilities under its policy obligations is known as policy valuation. The process of determining the
value of a company’s investments is known as asset valuation. Minimum valuation standards are usually prescribed by state laws.
Valued Policy:
An insurance policy under which the insurance company is obligated to pay the full amount of the policy written to insure real property against
loss by fire (and, sometimes, other perils) when the property insured is totally destroyed. Several states have laws that are known as Valued
Policy Laws.
Vandalism:
Willful, intentional, often random, destruction or defacement of private or public property. Insurance against the vandalism peril is usually
combined with the malicious mischief peril.
Variable Life Insurance:
A type of permanent life insurance in which the death benefit and the policy value vary in relation to the investment experience of a selected
fund in which the policy values are invested.
Verbal Threshold:
In no-fault auto insurance states with the verbal threshold, victims are allowed to sue in tort only if their injuries meet certain verbal descriptions
of the types of injuries that should, as a matter of policy, render one eligible to seek to recover for pain and suffering in a cause of action
in tort.
Viatical Settlement Companies:
Insurance firms that buy life insurance policies at a steep discount from policyholders who are often terminally ill and need the payment for
medications or treatments. The companies provide early payouts to the policyholder, assume the premium payments, and collect the face
value of the policy upon the policyholder’s death.
Void:
A policy contract that for some reason specified in the policy becomes free of all legal effect. One example under which a policy could be
voided is when information a policyholder provided is proven untrue.
Volatility:
A measure of the degree of fluctuation in a stock’s price. Volatility is exemplified by large, frequent price swings up and down.
Volcano Coverage:
Most homeowners policies cover damage from a volcanic eruption.
Volume:
Number of shares a stock trades either per day or per week.
Voluntary Market:
The market where a person seeking insurance obtains it with no help from the state, through an insurer of his or her own selection.
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