A concept in common law often used as a defense. Assumption of risk states that by certain actions, a person assumes certain risks. For example, by riding on the back of someone else’s motorcycle, an individual has assumed the risk of a crash and should not be able to sue the driver should a crash occur.
Insurance Encyclopedia
Assumption of risk doctrine
Defense against a negligence claim that bars recovery for damages if a person understands and recognizes the danger inherent in a particular activity or occupation.
Assumption reinsurance
A form of reinsurance under which policy administration and the contractual relationship with the insured, as well as all liabilities, pass to the reinsurer the novation of liability is evidenced by an assumption certificate issued to the insured who, in some jurisdictions, has the right to refuse the change in insurers. See Indemnity reinsurance and Coinsurance.
Assumption reinsurance (Reinsurance)
A type of reinsurance. The company reinsuring the insured party assumes total responsibility for the policy from the original insurance company. This is done by transferring the policy from the insurer to the re-insurer.
Assumptions
Values relating to future trends in certain key factors that affect the balance in the trust funds. Demographic assumptions include fertility, mortality, net immigration, marriage, divorce, retirement patterns, disability incidence and termination rates, and changes in the labor force. Economic assumptions include unemployment, average earnings, inflation, interest rates, and productivity. Also called demographic assumptions.
Assurance
Word that means “insurance” that is commonly used in Canada and Great Britain.
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Synonym for Insurance. Used commonly for the life business and in the traditional form of marine policy. Charles Babbage in 1826 suggested that assurance was a contract on the duration of life which must either happen or fail and insurance is a contract relating to any other uncertain event which may partly happen or partly fail but the distinction has never been universally accepted.
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UK: a term commonly used to distinguish insurance business providing benefits related to the duration of human life from other types of insurance (but for practical purposes the terms assurance and insurance are interchangeable).
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UK: Means an insured event that is certain to happen, e.g. in an endowment policy, the life assured will either survive the policy term or die within it. In contrast insurance is taken to mean events, e.g. road accidents that may or may not happen to the individual. The terms have often been used interchangeably although insurance is now the main term.
Assured
Means the same as insured but is most commonly used in life and marine business.
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Partly indemnified or promised to be indemnified against loss by means of insurance. Also, an interchangeable word that is the same in meaning as insured.
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A party who is a potential beneficiary of an insurance contract. The synonym insured is more commonly used.
Assurer
Means the same as insurer, but is most commonly used in life business.
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Same as Insurer.