The process of investigation undertaken when one company is about to acquire another. It means thorough checks on a company’s financial performance and its liabilities, e.g. inadequately insured losses or risks, before a transaction is completed. Reports from solicitors, accountants and insurance brokers are a part of the process. Failure to exercise due diligence could expose directors and officers to claims insurable under directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
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Proper care and attention. This term is commonly used to refer to the review of financial and legal documents in a merger or acquisition but is equally applicable to virtually any decision-making process, including whether to insure or self-insure, whether to form a captive insurance company, and a host of other risk management decisions.
Insurance Encyclopedia
Dues
Payment needed to maintain membership in a professional association.
Dummy application
Insurance application that is completed by the employer for an employee who is temporarily not available. The application is submitted unsigned to the insurance company. The health plan’s group processing division includes this dummy application to verify group eligibility, estimate the enrollment percentage, and verify rates based on final enrollment. If necessary, modifications to the application are made when the employee returns to work.
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.
A company that aids insurers in underwriting possible insureds by providing the insurer with financial information.
Dun message
Messages or phrases to inform or remind a patient about a delinquent account, usually printed on monthly billing statements. They can appear as a handwritten note or a brightly colored adhesive label.
Duplicate claims
1. Practice of billing for the same medical service more than once. In the Medicare program, a physician who repeatedly submits duplicate claims may be removed from the electronic billing network. 2. Resubmission of identical insurance claims with no changes. Duplicate claims are considered fraudulent. Also called double billing .
duplicate coverage inquiry (DCI) form
Query form completed to an insurance company or medical provider to find out where there is other health insurance coverage under another plan. Such inquiries are made for the purpose of coordination of benefits between the two or more plans.
Duplicate coverage inquiry (Health Insurance)
An inquiry into the existing coverage on a potential policyholder. This is done to coordinate benefit stipulations if more than one company is involved.
Duplication
Creation of a standby or backup facility to be used only in case the original facility is damaged. Duplication reduces loss severity, but may have no effect on loss frequency.Separation : Division of an existing loss exposure into two or more units, all used in an organization’s daily operations. Separation reduces loss severity, but may increase loss frequency because of the larger number of units exposed to loss in daily use.Selection (of Risk) : (i) The choosing by an underwriter of risks acceptable to an insurer. (ii) A phrase used in reinsurance referring to the practice of ceding poorer business to a reinsurer while retaining good risks.
Duplication of benefits
See: Duplication Of Coverage .
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Overlapping or identical coverage of the same insured two or more health plans, usually the result of contracts of different insurance companies, services organizations or prepayment plans; also known a multiple coverage.