Insurance and investments terms connie dello buono 4088541883 motherhealth at gmail san jose california

1. Insurance and Investments Terms
Connie Dello Buono
Financial Rep
San Jose CA
CA Life Lic 0G60621
408-854-1883
Accelerated Benefits/Living Benefits Riders: These
riders let policyholders, which may be terminally ill or
critically ill, draw upon a percentage of the face value of
their life insurance policies. Conditions under which this
option can be exercised and the amount available to the
policyholder can vary with each insurance company.
Accidental Death Benefit: An extra feature of a life
insurance policy that provides an additional benefit if the
insured dies in an accident. Because the face amount of
the policy is often doubled under this proportion.
Accumulation Period: The period of time in a deferred
annuity during which the purchase price is deposited
with the insurer and accumulated at interest. It ends
with the start of the liquidation period.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL's): Activities such as
eating, bathing, and dressing. The inability to perform a
specified number of these activities triggers eligibility for
benefits in a long-term care insurance contract.
Actual Cash Value: A process for valuing property loss.
Usually it is defined as replacement cost less
depreciation but in some states is defined as fair market
value.
Adverse Selection: Selection against the insurance
company. It is the tendency for those who know that

2. they are highly vulnerable to specific pure risks to be
most likely to acquire and to retain insurance to cover
that loss.
Agent: Consumers' primary link to an insurance
company. Agents work with consumers to assess their
needs and plan for long-term financial stability. Agents
may also be referred to as insurance advisors, financial
advisors, financial representatives, associates, life
underwriters, and field underwriters.
Annual Exclusion: The amount of a gift exempt from
federal transfer taxation. Currently it is $10,000 annually
for gifts to any one person. This can be increased to
$20,000 if the donor is married and the donor's spouse
elects to split the gift on a timely filed gift tax return.
Annuity: A financial contract that provides continuing
income, typically for retirement.
Annuitization: The conversion of an accumulated sum
of money into benefit-paying status as an annuity.
Application for insurance: A form that furnishes the
insurance company with necessary information on the
applicant's age, sex, address, occupation, earnings,
height, weight, medical history and other facts. The
company uses this information to determine whether or
not to insure the applicant.
Automatic Premium Loan Option: An option
associated with a cash value life insurance policy
whereby, if a renewal premium is not paid by the end of
the grace period, the insurer creates a loan against the
cash value in the amount of the unpaid premium.
Basis Point: One one-hundredth of a percentage point
(for example, a rise in yield from 6 percent to 6 3/4
percent is a gain of 75 basis points)
Binder: A written or oral agreement between an agent
and an applicant for insurance whereby the principal-

3. insurer is committed to provide the desired insurance, at
least on a temporary basis
Buy-sell Agreement: A contract binding the owner of a
business interest to sell the business interest for a
specified or determinable price at his or her death or
disability and a designated purchaser to buy at that
time.
Cafeteria Plan: An employee benefit plan under which
an employee can use a specified amount of employer
funds and/or salary reductions to design his or her own
benefit package from an array of available benefits.
Cancelable: A contract in which the insurance company
reserves the right to terminate the coverage at any time
(and perhaps for any reason) during the term of
coverage by providing notice to the insured.
Capital Needs Analysis: A system for determining how
much life insurance a client needs if the principal sum is
to be preserved in the process of meeting the financial
objectives for his or her survivors.
Cash Value: The savings element that builds up in a
permanent life insurance policy, an endowment policy, or
an annuity contract.
COBRA: A provision of the Consolidated Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 that requires group
health plans to allow employees and certain beneficiaries
to elect that their current health insurance coverage be
extended at groups rates for up to 36 months, following
a qualifying event that results in the loss of coverage.
The provision applies only to employers with 20 or more
employees. In addition, a person electing COBRA
continuation can be required to pay a premium equal to
as much as 102 percent of the cost to the employee

4. benefit plan for the period of coverage for a similarly
situated active employee to whom a qualifying event has
not occurred.
Coinsurance: The percentage of covered expenses
under a major medical plan that is paid once a
deductible is satisfied. The most common coinsurance is
80 percent. A provision whereby a property owner must
share in a loss if the amount of insurance carried is less
than a specified percentage of value. A reinsurance
arrangement in which a primary life insurance company
cedes a specified percentage of the face amount of a
policy or block or policies to a reinsurer.
Comparative Negligence: The legal principle whereby
an injured party can recover a portion of the damage for
his or her injuries if he or she were also negligent. In
some jurisdictions, a plaintiff can recover only if his or
her negligence is less (or not more) than the defendant's
negligence.
Conditional Receipt: A receipt given to an applicant of
life insurance in exchange for the payment of the first
premium in which the insurer, through its agent,
specifies that the coverage will be effective as of the
date of the receipt, subject to the condition that the
proposed insured later be found to have been insurable
as of the date the receipt was issued.
Contestability Period: Usually a specific time frame,
commonly two years, during which the insurer may deny
coverage, void a contract or question the validity of a
claim.
Contingent Beneficiary: The person designated to
receive the death proceeds of a life insurance policy if
the primary beneficiary predeceases the insured.
Contingent Liability: Legal liability that arises because
of work performed by an independent contractor, such as

5. a subcontract of a business.
Cross-purchase Agreement: A business buy-sell
agreement in which the surviving co-owners will be the
purchasers of the business interest of a deceased owner.
Conversion: A provision in a group benefit plan that
gives an employee whose coverage ceases the right to
convert to an individual insurance policy without
providing evidence of insurability. The conversion policy
may or may not be identical to the prior group coverage.
Convertibility: A feature in term life insurance that
allows the insured to replace the term coverage with
permanent individual life insurance without having to
show evidence of insurability. In group insurance, the
right is available only at certain times, including
termination of the insured from the group or from an
eligible class within the group.
Coordination of benefits: Coordination of benefits
prevents duplication or overlapping for the same
expense when a policyholder owns two or more group
policies. This allows one insurance carrier to be aware of
any other insurance coverage the policyholder may have.
The two companies determine which company has the
primary responsibility to pay and which company has the
secondary responsibility after the benefits from the
primary insurer are exhausted.
Co-insurance: A provision of a medical expense
insurance policy that requires the insured to pay a
percentage of all eligible medical expenses, in excess of
the deductible, that result from sickness or injury.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA): Increases in
benefit levels because of changes in some index, such as
the CPI. These increases apply to Social Security income

6. benefits and sometimes to benefits under private
insurance and retirement programs.
Deductible: The amount a policyholder must pay before
insurance covers any expenses. The insurance program
pays benefits only for losses over the amount stated in
the deductible provision.
Dependent: Most commonly defined under a group
medical expense plan to include an employee's spouse
who is not legally separated from the employee and any
other unmarried dependent children (including
stepchildren and adopted children) under age 19 or, if
full time students, age 23.
Disability Insurance: Health insurance designed to
provide financial payments to replace an insured's
income if he/she is unable to work due to an illness or
injury.
Dividend Options: A set of provisions in a participating
life insurance policy that describe how the policyowner
can use the dividends, usually to reduce the premium
payment, to buy additional paid-up permanent
insurance, to accumulate at interest, to buy term
insurance, or to make the policy a paid-up policy at an
earlier age than originally planned.
Elimination period or waiting period: The time a
policyholder must be insured under the policy before
he/she is eligible for benefits.
Endorsement: A provision added to a property or
liability insurance policy, sometimes for an extra
premium charge, by which the scope of the policy's
coverage is clarified, restricted, or enlarged.
Endowment: A type of life insurance policy that pays
the face amount if the insured dies during a specific
period of time and also pays the face amount if he or she
lives to end of that period.

7. Errors and Omissions Insurance: A type of
professional liability for those in occupations such as real
estate appraising and accounting, where the
professional's acts or omissions are unlikely to result in
bodily injury.
Estate Tax: A tax imposed upon the right of a person to
transfer property at death. The federal government and
many states levy such taxes.
Exclusions: This term refers to losses or risks that a
policy does not cover.
Exclusion Ratio: The ratio used to determine the
portion of the benefit payment from an annuity that is
tax free as a return of the investment in the contract. It
is the ratio of the total amount invested to the total
amount expected to be received.
Extended Care Facility: A skilled nursing home o
rehabilitation center equipped to provide full nursing
care that has a transfer agreement with a hospital.
Fiduciary Bond: A bond that guarantees that a person
who is responsible for the property of another faithfully
exercises his or her duties, gives proper accounting of
any property received, and makes proper indemnification
if the court determines that the principal is responsible
for any financial loss that relates to the property. It is
often required of persons who act as administrators,
trustees, or guardians.
Face amount: The amount stated on the policy that will
be paid at death or maturity. It does not include
additional amounts payable under accidental death or
other special provisions, or acquired through the use of
policy dividends.
Fifth Dividend Option: A provision in cash value life
insurance whereby dividends can be used to purchase
increasing term insurance.

8. Fixed Annuity: An annuity that provides a stated dollar
benefit, regardless of the insurer's investment return.
Free-look period: Time during which the policyholder
may return the policy if he/she is not completely
satisfied and receive a complete refund. The customary
length of time for a "free look" is 30 days for policies
purchased through the mail and 10 days for those
purchased from an agent.
General Agent: In the legal sense, an agent who has
the authority to bind the insurance company on a risk. In
life insurance marketing, the term refers to an
entrepreneur who is granted a franchise by an insurer to
build an agency force for the marketing of the insurer's
products in a given geographic area.
Grace Period: An additional period of time, usually 31
days, granted in some types of insurance for the
policyowner to pay the premium after it has become
due. During the grace period, the coverage remains in
force.
Guaranteed Renewable: A policy that is renewable at
the policyholder's option and cannot be terminated by
the insurance company.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): A
managed system of health care that provides a
comprehensive array of medical services on a prepaid
basis to voluntarily enrolled persons living within a
specific geographic region. HMO's both finance health
care and deliver health services. There is an emphasis
on preventive care as well as cost control.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): An HSA is a tax-
exempt trust or custodial account established for the
purpose of paying medical expenses in conjunction with

9. a high-deductible health plan. The HSA cannot stand
alone — it can only be combined with a high deductible
health insurance plan. A number of the rules that apply
to HSAs are similar to rules that apply to individual
retirement arrangements (IRAs).
Hold-Harmless Agreement: An agreement in which
one party, such as a tenant, accepts the responsibility of
another party, such as a landlord, for losses that would
otherwise fall on that other party.
Hospice: A health care facility or service that provides
benefits to terminally ill persons. The emphasis is on
easing the physical and psychological pain associated
with death rather than on curing a medical condition.
Hospital Indemnity Insurance: A medical expense
policy that pays a fixed dollar amount for each day a
person is hospitalized, regardless of other insurance.
Implied Warranty: An obligation imposed by law on
the manufacturer or distributor of products.
Inflation Guard Endorsements: A homeowners
endorsement that provides an automatic increase for
property coverages. The policyowner selects the annual
percentage rate.
Insurable Interest: A right or relationship with regard
to the subject matter of an insurance contract such that
the insured will suffer financial loss from damage, loss,
or destruction to that subject matter.
Joint-and-Last-Survivor Annuity: An annuity whose
benefit payments continue until the last death among
specified lives.
Joint-Life Policy: A type of life insurance policy
covering two or more persons in which the proceeds are
payable on the death of the first one to die.
Life Annuity Certain: A life annuity that provides a

10. guaranteed minimum number of benefit payments
whether the annuitant live or dies. It is a combination of
an annuity certain and a pure deferred life annuity.
Liquidity: The ability to convert an investment asset
into cash quickly without loss of value.
Long-Term Care Insurance: A form of health
insurance that usually provides coverage for custodial
care, intermediate care, and skilled-nursing care.
Benefits may also be available for home health care,
adult day care, and assisted living. Benefits are usually
limited to a specified dollar amount per day.
Loss Ratio Method of RateMaking: A method in which
the actual loss ratio is compared to the desired or
expected loss ratio to determine the change needed in
an existing insurance rate.
Major Medical Insurance: A medical insurance plan
designed to provide substantial protection against
catastrophic medical expenses. There are a few
exclusions and limitations, but deductibles and
coinsurance are commonly used.
Managed Care: A process to deliver cost-effective
health care without sacrificing quality or access.
Common characteristics include controlled access to
providers, comprehensive case management, preventive
care, risk taking, and high-quality care.
Marital Deduction: An unlimited amount that can be
taken as a deduction against the federal gift and estate
tax for transfers to the donor's spouse.
Medicaid: A joint federal and state program to provide
medical expense benefits for certain classes of low-
income individuals and families.
Medical Savings Account: An alternative to first-dollar

11. coverage under a medical expense plan. An employee is
given medical expense coverage that has a high
deductible, and money is deposited into the medical
spending account so that the employee can pay for
expenses below the deductible amount. Any monies not
used at the end of the year are paid to the employee.
Medicare: The health insurance portion of the Social
Security program that is available to persons age 65 or
older and limited categories of persons under age 65.
Medigap Policy: An individual health insurance contract
that covers certain expenses not covered by Medicare.
These expenses include such items as deductibles,
copayments, and noncovered services like prescription
drugs.
Net Payment Cost Index: A method of estimating the
net cost of life insurance on a time-value-adjusted basis
if the policy's death benefit is paid at the end of a
specified time period.
No-Fault: A modification of the traditional tort liability
system that provides first-party benefits to injured
persons and imposes some restrictions on their rights to
sue negligent parties.
Noncancelable: An insurance contract in which the
insured has the right to renew the coverage at each
policy anniversary date, usually up to some stated age,
and the coverage may not be terminated by the insurer
during the term of coverage. Also the rates for the
coverage are guaranteed in the contract, though they
are not necessarily level.
Nonforfeiture Value: The savings element in
permanent life insurance policies. Also sometimes called
the cash value.
Nonparticipating Policy: A type of insurance policy on
which no dividends are paid to the policyowner, but it

12. has a fixed premium that is often lower than that of a
participating policy.
OASDHI: The old age, survivors, disability, and heath
insurance program for the federal government. This
program consists of Social Security and Medicare.
Option Renewable Policy: The company may or may
not renew the policy at each premium due date. The
policy cannot be cancelled between such dates.
Other than Collision: The term used in automobile
insurance to refer to physical damage to a vehicle that is
not caused by collision (formerly referred to as
comprehensive).
Pain and Suffering: Intangible losses arising from
bodily injury.
Participating Party: A life insurance policy that
distributes company surplus funds to policyholders as
dividends.
Permanent life insurance policy: Type of life
insurance (other than term insurance) that accrues cash
value and is designed for long-term, or permanent,
needs of a policyholder. Includes whole, universal and
variable life, among others.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP): The usual name
that is applied to a state's no-fault benefits.
Personal Property Floater: A policy to provide "all-
risks" coverage for unscheduled personal property on a
world-wide basis.
Policyowner: The person or organization that owns an
insurance policy. The policyowner generally has the right
to change, renew, or cancel the policy and the obligation
to comply with policy conditions, such as premium
payments.
Preexisting Condition: An illness or condition of health
that originated prior to the issuing of the policy.

13. Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): A group of
health care providers that contracts with employers,
insurance companies, union trust funds, third-party
administrators, or others to provide medical care
services at a reduced fee. PPOs can be organized by the
providers themselves or by organizations such as
insurance companies, the Blues, or groups of employers.
Premium: The price charged for a period of coverage
provided by an insurance policy and found by multiplying
the rate by the number of units of coverage.
Presumed Negligence: Negligence that can be
assumed from the facts of certain situations. It can occur
if (1) the action would not normally cause injury without
negligence, (2) the action is within the control of the
party to be held liable, and (3) the party to be held liable
has superior knowledge of the cause of the accident or
the injured party is unable to prove negligence.
Primary Beneficiary: The beneficiary in a life insurance
policy who is first entitled to receive the policy proceeds
upon the insured's death.
Primary Insurance Amount (PIA): The amount a
worker will receive under Social Security if he or she
retires at age 65 or becomes disabled. It is also the
amount on which all other Social Security income
benefits are based.
Real Property: Land and anything that is growing on it,
erected on it, or affixed to it, and the bundle of rights
inherent in the ownership.
Rehabilitation Benefit: A benefit under workers'
compensation laws or disability income plans that
provides rehabilitative services for disabled workers.
Benefit may be given for medical rehabilitation and for
vocational rehabilitation, including training, counseling,

14. and job placement.
Replacement: The replacing of one life insurance policy
with another. To prevent financial harm to the
policyowner, agents and insurers must follow prescribed
procedures.
Rider: The term used in life insurance in place of the
term endorsement.
Settlement Options: The ways that policyholders or
beneficiaries may choose to have benefits paid other
than a lump sum.
Split-Dollar Life Insurance: A plan under which two
parties, usually an employer and an insured employee,
share the premium costs, death proceeds, and perhaps
cash value of a life insurance policy pursuant to a
prearranged agreement.
Stop-Loss Limit: The maximum amount of out-of-
pocket medical expenses that a covered person must
pay in a given period (usually one year). After this limit
is reached, future copayments and deductibles are
waived for the remainder of the period.
Subrogation: A process by which an insurer takes over
the legal rights its insured has against a responsible
third party.
Suicide Clause: A life insurance policy provision that
specifies that if the insured, whether sane or insane,
commits suicide during the first one or 2 years of the
policy, the insurer will be liable only for a return of the
premium.
Surgical Schedule: A list of the cash amounts that will
be paid for various types of surgery with the amount
payable generally based upon the seriousness of the
operations.
Term Insurance: Life insurance written for a specific
time period and payable only if the policyholder dies

15. within that time period.
Time limit on certain defenses: This clause in an
insurance policy is required under state law. After two
years, misstatements on the application, (except
fraudulent ones), can not be used to void the policy or
deny a claim. At the end of the two-year period, a claim
may not be denied on the grounds that a disease or
physical condition, not specifically excluded by name,
had existed before the policy went into effect.
Title Insurance: Protection for the purchaser of real
estate against defects in title that occurred prior to the
effective date of coverage but are discovered after the
effective date.
Umbrella Liability Insurance: A personal or business
liability policy that provides high limits for a broad range
of liability situations. The policyowner is required to have
underlying liability coverage of specific amounts. Claims
not covered by the underlying insurance are subject to a
self-insured retention.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: An automobile
insurance coverage that enables an insured to collect
from his or her own insurance company for bodily
injuries (and property damage in a few states) that are
caused by a legally liable, but uninsured driver.
Universal life insurance: A flexible life insurance policy
allowing the policyholder to change the death benefit
from time to time, and vary the amount or time of a
premium payment.
Variable life insurance: Life insurance under which the
benefits vary, but never below a guaranteed minimum
benefit, based on the value of assets behind the contract
at the time the benefit is paid.
Variable Universal Life Insurance: A type of life
insurance policy that combines the premium flexibility

16. features of universal life insurance with the
policyowner--directed investment aspects of variable life
insurance.
Whole Life: Life insurance coverage that remains in
force during the insured's entire lifetime, provided
premiums are paid as specified in the policy.
Investment Terms
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Bear Market: A term for stocks, bonds, or commodities
markets when prices decline for an extended period.
Bond: A debt instrument sold to raise capital. If you
invest in a bond, you are essentially lending money for a
period of more than one year to the institution that sold
it to you. Federal and local governments as well as
commercial companies are among institutions that sell
bonds.
Bull Market: A term for stock, bond, or commodities
markets when prices increase for an extended period.
Capital: Accumulated assets, often providing a stream
of income.
Capital Gain: Profit realized on the sale of securities. An
unrealized capital gain is an increase in the value of
securities that have not been sold.
Certificate of Deposit (CD): A low-risk, low-return
debt instrument offered by a bank. CDs pay interest (set
by the bank) over a designated period of time, such as a
seven-month CD. You will likely pay a fee for early
withdrawal of funds.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP): Professional who
has attained a high degree of technical competency in
financial planning and has passed a series of professional

17. examinations.
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC): An individual
who has attained a high degree of technical competency
in the fields of financial planning, investments, and life
and health insurance and has passed ten professional
examinations administered by The American College.
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU): An individual who
has attained a high degree of technical competency in
the fields of life and health insurance and who is
expected to abide by a code of ethics. Must have
minimum of three years of experience in life or health
insurance sales and have passed ten professional
examinations administered by The American College.
Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter
(CPCU): Professional who has attained a high degree of
technical competency in property and liability insurance
and has passed ten professional examinations
administered by the American Institute for Property and
Liability Underwriters.
Common Stock: Securities that represent an ownership
interest in a corporation.
Deferred Annuity: A financial product that allows you
to accumulate money on a tax-deferred basis, when
purchased from an insurance company, that can
subsequently be paid out as income or taken in a lump
sum.
Diversification: The use of a variety of investment
vehicles in order to earn higher returns or to be exposed
to less risk.
Dollar-cost averaging: A formula plan for timing of
investment transactions, in which a fixed dollar amount
is invested in a security in each period; a passive buy-
and-hold strategy in which the amount of periodic
investment is held constant.

18. Equity: Interest or ownership right; the value of the
portion of an investment that you own.
Estate: The assets and liabilities of a person left at
death.
Estate Planning: Developing a plan to transfer all of
your property from one generation to the next or within
a generation.
Financial Planning: The process of developing and
implementing a coordinated plan for achievement of
financial objectives. It could include income tax planning,
retirement planning, investment planning, insurance and
risk management, and estate planning.
Hedging: Technique for transferring the risk of
unfavorable price fluctuations to a speculator by
purchasing and selling options and futures contracts on
an organized exchange.
Indexing: Adjusting of values over time to reflect the
impact of inflation.
Individual Retirement Account (IRA): An account to
which an individual can save for retirement on a tax-
favored basis. Contributions to a standard IRA are tax
deductible for many workers; contributions to a Roth IRA
are made with after-tax dollars but can be withdrawn
tax-free at retirement.
Insolvent: Having insufficient financial resources
(assets) to meet financial obligations (liabilities).
Inter vivos Trust: A trust created while the creator of
the trust is living. Also known as a living trust.
Irrevocable Trust: A trust in which the creator does
not reserve the right to reacquire the trust property.
Money Market: A short-term debt instrument, such as
a negotiable certificate of deposit (CD) or Treasury bill.
Mutual Fund: A professionally managed fund that
invests money from you and other shareholders in a

19. group of assets, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or
other securities.
No-Load Fund: A mutual fund in which you do not pay
an up-front sales fee.
Revocable Trust: A trust that can be terminated or
revoked by its creator.
Rollover: Transfer of IRA or other qualified pension
funds from one financial institution (trustee) to another.
Roth IRA: An special type of individual retirement
account to which an individual can make contributions
with after-tax dollars. Funds can be withdrawn tax-free
at retirement.
Stock Company: A company organized and owned by
stockholders, as distinguished from the mutual form of
company which is owned by its policyholders.
Stock Exchange: An organization that provides a
facility for buyers and sellers of listed securities to come
together to make grades in those securities.
Stockholder (or shareholder): A person who owns
shares of stock in a corporation.
Stock Insurance Company: A company in which the
legal ownership and control is vested in the stockholders.
Stock Life Insurance Company: A life insurance
company owned by stockholders who elect a board to
direct the company's management. Stock companies, in
general, issue nonparticipating insurance, but may also
issue participating insurance.
Stock Redemption Plan: an entity purchase form of
buy-sell agreement within a corporation that involves the
corporation buying back shares from a departing owner.
Trust: A legal instrument allowing one party to control
property for the benefit of another.
Variable Annuity: An annuity contract in which the
amount of each periodic income payment may fluctuate.

20. The fluctuation may be related to securities market
values, a cost of living index, or some other variable
factor.
Variable Annuity: An annuity under which the benefit
varies according to the investment results of a life
insurance company's separate account (usually invested
primarily in common stocks).
Variable Life Insurance: Life insurance under which
the benefits relate to the value of assets behind the
contract at the time the benefit is paid. The amount of
death benefit payable would, under variable life policies
that have been proposed, never be less than the initial
death benefit payable under the policy.