Assumption

A procedure under which one insurance or reinsurance) company takes over or assumes contractual obligations of another insurer or reinsurer.

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An amount accepted by the reinsurer.

 

 

Assumption of Risk

As the term implies, when one voluntarily assumes a risk, that person is believed to know the consequences of such an act. Therefore, he or she is responsible for any resulting injury or property damage. Often, in business, it is necessary to assume some risk, often contractually. Thus, there are various forms of insurance coverage that provide protection for assumed risk. (See Contractual Liability).

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One of the common law defenses available to an individual. For instance, one person riding with another in an automobile has generally “assumed the risk” and therefore, has no action against the driver of the vehicle should an accident occur. This is common law concept and has been modified by recent case laws and by Motor Vehicles Act.

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Coverage or acceptance of proposed risk perils by an Insurer.

 

 

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.

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.