Non-profit insurance association that facilitates the development use of global insurance standards for insurance-related financial services industries. ACORD is committed to improving efficiency and expanding market reach by reducing costs; reducing duplication of work and ambiguous communication exchanges; improving accuracy; facilitating e-commerce; and supporting multiple distribution models. WISE ceded the promotion of electronic data standards to the organisation in July 2001. ACORD has offices in New York and London. Visit www.acord.org.
Insurance Encyclopedia
Acquired
In a medical sense, clinically indicates a condition produced by outside influences and not genetically.
Acquisition cost
1. Total cost to the company of setting up a new business such as commissions to agents and brokers, supervision costs, sales promotion expenses, and cost of secretarial work. 2. In health insurance, the cost of selling, underwriting, and issuing a new insurance policy (administrative costs, brokers’ commissions, advertising, and medical fees). Also called policy acquisition costs.
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UK: cost associated with the underwriting of new business, including commission paid to brokers and agents (and to the cedant company in the case of reinsurance)
Acquisition Costs
All expenses directly related to acquiring insurance or reinsurance accounts; i.e., commissions paid to agents, brokerage fees paid to brokers, premium taxes and expenses associated with marketing, underwriting, contract issuance and premium collection.****Insurer’s/Reinsurer’s cost of securing business including commission to Agents and brokers and other marketing expenses. It also can be accounting charge for placing a new Policy as on Insurer’s books.
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The expense undertaken to acquire new business. The concept applies to both agents and companies. The largest portion of an insurer’s acquisition cost is agent’s or sales representative’s commission or bonus.
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Expenses incurred by an insurer in obtaining new business and issuing policies. Commission to intermediaries accounts for the largest portion of acquisition costs.
Acquittal
To declare not guilty of a charge: to exonerate.
Acre-foot
The amount of water needed to cover one acre of land in water 1 foot deep.
ACS contract
See: administrative services only (ASO) agreement.
Act
1. Generally refers to the Social Security Act, and titles referred to are titles of that Act. 2. Term for legislation that passed through Congress and was signed by the President or passed over his veto. Also called law or statute.
Act Liability Only
Insurance to cover only that liability of the insured which is created by some specific provision of any act, statute or law, like Act Liability Insurance only in respect of motor vehicles as per provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Act of God
A natural event outside of any human control, such as an earthquake.*********Accident or event that results from natural causes without human intervention and could not be prevented by foresight such as flood, lightning, earthquake, tornado, or storm.********Acts of naturethe term was once widely used to distinguish between manmade events, such as, fire, collision, and nature’s rampages in wind and flood.
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An accident, an event that is the result of natural cause without any human intervention or agency, that could not have been prevented by reasonable foresight or care, such as floods lighting earthquake or storms.
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Natural occurrences (earthquake, typhoon, etc.) that no amount of human foresight could have avoided. It is a defence against strict liability in tort, e.g. Rylands v. Fletcher. In Nichols v. Marsland (CA 1876) the defendant was not liable when exceptionally violent storms caused his artificial lakes to flood his neighbour’s land, but the defence is of very restricted application.