The law governing conditional fee agreements and after-the-event legal insurance (AEI) has been revised. The court can order a losing party to pay any increase in both the successful party’s normal lawyer fee and the successful party’s premium for insurance against being ordered to pay the other side’s costs. When instructed, solicitors must inform their clients of the availability of alternative funding, such as AEI.
Insurance Encyclopedia
Access to Medical Records Act 1988
Allows the proposer of a life insurance policy to inspect medical records. The insurer must obtain the proposer’s written consent before contacting his doctor for a report, but the proposer has the right to inspect the report before it is submitted to the insurer. If the proposer believes the report is misleading, he may request changes. If the doctor refuses, the proposer has two options: withdraw permission and risk losing the insurance offer, or add comments to the report.
Access to Records Clause
A provision in a reinsurance agreement that allows the Reinsurer access to the Ceding Company’s books, records, and other reinsurance-related documents and information. This includes related accounting, underwriting, and claims information for the purpose of obtaining information about the reinsurance agreement or its subject matter from the Reinsurer.
Accessibility of services
The ability to obtain medical care and services when a patient requires them.
Accession
The process by which property belonging to one person becomes the property of another by being added to or incorporated with the latter’s property.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
Separate living quarters within a single-family home. The ADU is a complete living unit with its own kitchen and bathroom.
Accident
An unplanned occurrence beyond the insured’s control that occurs suddenly and by pure chance, resulting in injury traceable to a specific time and place.
An accident may be viewed as the result of a failure to identify a hazard or a flaw in an existing system of hazard controls.
There must be some element of fortuity (chance).
Accident and Health Insurance
Accident and health insurance, also known as casualty insurance, typically covers accidental injury and accidental death. In the event of an accident, benefits will cover medical expenses, preventative services, and, to some extent, catastrophic care. Benefits are paid to named beneficiaries in the event of an accidental death. Accidental death is frequently combined with dismemberment, giving rise to the term “Accidental Death and Dismemberment.” In this case, specific sums are paid to the insured in the event of amputation. The policy specifies the amount paid for each type of dismemberment. Dismemberment of a leg, for example, pays more than dismemberment of a finger.
See Also Accidental Death and Dismemberment
Accident Basis
- A policy coverage concept that applies to claims arising from accidents that occur during the policy’s term; distinct from claims made basis and occurrence basis.
- In the Accounts and Statements Rules, a reporting basis for general insurance business based on the calendar or accounting year in which an accident or loss occurred (compare with underwriting basis).
Accident Book
Workplaces with more than ten employees, as well as all factories, are required by law to have an accident book in which employees, or others acting on their behalf, can record details about accidents and work-related illnesses. Entries serve as formal notice to the employer, who may enter his own if he believes the employee’s entry is incorrect. The entries could be used in future claims against the employer. The most recent Accident Book (published by the HSE) complies with the Data Protection Act of 1998. Accidents are recorded, but information about the individuals involved is kept separately and securely.