Home Owner Insurance Vocabulary
Cancel: To terminate or end a contract or a policy.
Claim: The amount a policyholder believes he or she has coming from an insurance company as a result of some fortuitous event insured against.
Condominium: A multi-unit building in which individual units can be purchased and sold. Individual owners have a percentage interest of the total property owned jointly by all unit owners.
Coverage: The protection against financial loss provided by an insurance contract.
Declarations Page: The declarations page forms part of the policy that contains basic information such as when, where and to whom the policy applies. More specifically it will have the policy number, the named insured, mailing address, effective dates, agent's name, insured vehicle or structure, mortgages, rating information coverage, endorsements, limits and premium charges.
Deductible: The amount of the loss that an insured must first pay before the company pays the balance on a loss/claim.
Depreciation: The reduction in value of property due to wear and tear or becoming obsolete. Also, see Actual Cash Value.
Dwelling: A structure intended for people to live in.
Effective Date: The starting date of the policy or the date when the company would be liable for a loss under the policy.
Endorsement: A written change form that amends and becomes part of the insurance policy. Also can be known as a "rider" or "supplementary agreement".
Exclusion: Something not covered by a policy that is described in the wording of the policy.
Negligence: When a person doesn't exercise reasonable care in a given situation, he or she may be considered to be negligent. One can be negligent as a result of doing something or of not doing something, that would prevent said situation. However, there must be a duty to act or not act imposed by law (i.e., some states do not require someone to render assistance to someone who needs help. Because the law does not impose a duty, an individual cannot be held liable in some states for failing to render assistance.)