the amount for which an insurer becomes liable in the event of a slip being over- subscribed (see written line).

A pension scheme that does not admit new members.

An advice sent by a broker to an insurer who has taken a line on a slip specifying the actual proportion of risk allocated to the insurer and the actual premium receivable. If a slip is oversubscribed, the broker scales down and apportions the risk pro rata. See SHORT CLOSING.

a group of identical life policies aimed primarily at investment and designed to facilitate flexibility in making partial surrenders; sometimes referred to as an investment bond.

A life policy consisting of a number of equally valued smaller policies. Each policy in the cluster is treated separately for tax and administrative purposes. The holder can transfer each individual policy separately into a personal pension scheme to secure pension benefits and take them at different times to phase in retirement. The holder is able to retain the maximum tax-free investment and secure a lump sum return on death. Clustering can also be applied to investment bonds or endowments enabling the holder to take benefits as required over a period.

Similar to CDOs except that they are backed exclusively by mortgages rather than diversified loans. The cash inflows of the SPV are also divided into layers or tranches, each of which has a different payback period and seniority profile based on security.

Governs cross-border European road carriage and was enacted in the UK by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965. CMR applies to the carriage of goods by road when the place of taking over the goods and the delivery place are in two different countries at least one of which is a contracting party. Any road journey for hire or reward (not own goods carriage) that starts or ends in the UK is subject to CMR unless an exception (e.g. furniture removal, postal despatch) applies. The carrier is liable for loss or damage from taking charge of the goods until delivery subject to a compensation limit based on a rate per kilo. There is no liability if a defence (e.g. wrongful act or neglect of the claimant) applies.

1. Where two or more insurers share the same risk. A co-insurer is not bound to follow the decision of another co-insurer, except where he has given authority for the other insurer to act on his behalf. Each co-insurance is a separate contract with the insured. 2. Where an insured shares a part of the risk, e.g. 10 per cent of each claim (co-insurance clause), the insured is said to be a co-insurer.