Convertible currency

In the Lloyd’s market this means any currency other than sterling, US dollars and Canadian dollars. In the company market it means any currency other than the main currencies in which the business is transacted. Convertible currency is normally accounted for in sterling.

Convertible Term

Convertible term is a type of term life insurance policy that can be converted to a permanent life insurance contract (whole life or universal life) without evidence of insurability. For example, a young woman may purchase term insurance to cover the basic needs of her family (pay off debt, final expenses, etc.). If the term is convertible to whole life, she may, before the end of the policy term, convert to a permanent form of life insurance even if she has contracted a major disease or become disabled. (See Term Insurance).

Cooling degree day (CDD)

A measure of how much the average of the daily high and low temperature is greater than a reference temperature (typically 18°C or 65°F). Cumulatively CDDs measure the intensity and duration of warmth and indicate how much ‘cooling’ is required by, say, UK energy companies suffering poor sales during warm weather. An average daily temperature of 23°C creates 5 CDDs towards the season’s aggregate. UK energy companies hedge against warm weather by purchasing call options indexed by CDDs. Each CDD has a notional value, the tick, and the payout occurs when the cumulative CDDs exceed the strike. See WINTER SEASON; HEATING DEGREE DAYS; COOLING SEASON; GROWING DEGREE DAYS.