Certificate of authority (COA)

1. State license to operate as a health maintenance organization (HMO). 2. Insurance company’s document that grants authority to a particular agent or group of agents to act on behalf of the insurer. 3. Certificate issued by a state’s insurance department that authorizes an insurance company to issue certain types of insurance in the state.

Certificate of Convenience

A term used in some countries to refer to a temporary license or perming empowering a person to act as an agent even through not fully licensed according to the law. Usually this certificate is granted to an agent who is studying for a licensing examination. It might also be issued to the administrator or executor of the estate of an insurance agent who must have the authority of an agent to settle the estate, or to someone acting for an agent during a disability or an absence such as military duty.

Certificate of coverage (COC)

Document given to an insured by the insurance company or any employer that offers a health plan. It describes the benefits in detail under the policy issued. It is required by state law. Also called evidence of coverage (EOC), benefit plan, insurance policy, subscriber agreement, subscriber certificate, and subscriber contract.

Certificate of indebtedness

1. Document issued by an insurance company and given to the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that states a guaranteed minimum interest rate and the frequency of interest payments. 2. Short-term certification, 12 months or less, of a specific portion of debt due by the federal government to individual holders, bearing a fixed rate of interest.