1. Transfer of ownership rights in a life insurance policy or other type of contract from one individual to another. 2. Document that creates the transfer of ownership rights of a life insurance policy to go into effect. See also absolute assignment and collateral assignment. 3. Transfer, after an event insured against, of an individual’s legal right to collect an amount payable under an insurance contract. 4. For Medicare, an agreement in which a patient assigns to the physician the right to receive payment from the fiscal intermediary. Under this agreement, the physician must agree to accept 80% of the allowed amount as payment in full, once the deductible has been met. 5. For TRICARE, providers who accept assignment agree to accept 75% or 80% of the TRICARE allowable charge as the full fee, collecting the deductible and 20% or 25% of the allowable charge from the patient. 6. In hospital billing, the assignment is inserted in Field 53 of the Uniform Bill (UB-04) inpatient hospital billing claim form. Also known as assignment of benefits.
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The transfer by a policyholder of the legal right or interest in a policy contract to a third party.
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UK: the transfer of rights under an insurance policy to a third party, often as security for a loan. In English law, obligations under an insurance policy may not, except in an insurance business transfer scheme under Part 7 FISMA, be assigned without the consent of the insured, such a process being known as novation.
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US: The legal transfer of one person’s interest in an insurance policy to another person.
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When a person wants to take a loan from a bank, the policy can be assigned (transferred) in the name of the person/organization from whom the money is borrowed as a collateral security. Sometimes even for one policy there can be different financial institutions having its individual specific stake for different Plants and/or machinery and/or building and/or stocks. Where assured assigns or otherwise parts with his interest in the subject matter insured, he does not thereby transfer to the assignee his rights under the contract of Insurance, unless there be an express or implied agreement with the assignee to that effects. However, this provision does not affect transmission of interest by operation of law.
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UK: Transfer of a policy from one person to another. Generally, the insurer’s consent is required as insurance contracts are personal contracts. Marine policies are freely assignable unless expressly prohibited as in the case of hulls. Cargo changes hands and it is desirable that the cargo policy is assignable with the goods. The Policies of Assurance Act 1867 makes the insurer’s consent unnecessary in life insurance, but the assignee has no right to sue the insurer unless written notice of the assignment has been given. Assignment of a life policy changes its ownership but not the identity of the life insured.