Install
Regulation terms
Watchdogs and rulebooks across markets.
Admitted insurerAn insurance company licensed by a state's insurance department to sell policies there, subject to that state's filing rules and guaranty fund protection.Diligent searchThe effort a surplus lines broker must make to find coverage from admitted insurers before placing a risk with a non-admitted insurer.Guaranty fundA state-created safety net that pays covered claims, up to statutory limits, when an admitted insurer becomes insolvent.Non-admitted insurerAn insurer not licensed in your state that may still write coverage there through a surplus lines broker, outside the state's rate and form filing rules.Risk-based capitalA regulatory formula for the minimum capital an insurer must hold against asset, underwriting and reserve risks, with escalating action as capital falls.Stamping feeA charge on a surplus lines policy that pays the state or its stamping office to review and record the placement, collected from the buyer with the premium.Applicable large employer (ALE)Under the ACA, an employer with an average of 50 or more full-time and full-time-equivalent employees in the prior year, subject to the employer mandate.Certificate of insuranceA one-page summary issued by an agent or insurer showing what coverage a business carried on the date issued, which confers no rights on the holder.COBRAA federal law letting workers and families keep their employer's group health coverage for a limited time after a job loss or other qualifying event.ERISAThe 1974 federal law setting fiduciary, reporting and disclosure standards for private-sector retirement and welfare benefit plans, enforced by the DOL.ERISA bondA fidelity bond ERISA requires for people who handle benefit plan funds, protecting the plan from theft or fraud and set at 10% of the funds handled.Full-time equivalent (FTE)A way to convert part-time hours into the number of full-time workers they equal, used to decide whether the ACA employer mandate or a tax credit applies.Hold harmless agreementA contract clause in which one party agrees to take on another party's liability for specified claims, usually those arising from the first party's work.ISO (Insurance Services Office)The Verisk business that publishes the standard commercial policy forms, rules, classifications and loss costs most U.S. property and casualty insurers use.Subcontractor warrantyA contractor liability policy condition requiring subcontractors to carry stated insurance and indemnity terms, with coverage cut back if they do not.