Commercial guarantees protect employers against financial loss from the dishonesty of employees. Local government guarantees operate similarly but also cover loss due to mistakes. Court bonds guarantee the performance of individuals appointed by the court to handle money or other assets. Government bonds guarantee the performance of individuals in a position of trust given by government departments or concerned with dutiable goods for whom a customs and excise bond is appropriate. See GUARANTEE/INSURANCE-GUARANTEE.

Proposal (10/6/02) for motor insurance against civil liability. Main points: the minimum sum should be set at €2 million throughout the EU; three-month deadline for registration of car with foreign plates; where an accident occurs and the vehicle cannot be linked to a specific country it will be linked to the country in which the accident occurred; insurance companies claims-representatives or branch offices in Member States should be able to settle claims; a person who buys a car abroad should be able to obtain 2-4 weeks full insurance to cover the return journey to the buyer’s own country.

Indemnifies the insured if, at the end of a specified period, the finance he has provided exceeds the revenue collected from the production and sale of the various films known collectively as a ‘slate. The sum insured represents the entire cost of producing a slate of films, i.e. a given number, and the premium is a percentage thereof.

Contingency insurance against pecuniary loss due to the interruption or abandonment of film through the death or incapacity of named actors or actresses.

Defined in the particular pension scheme and calculated in a specified way (e.g. averaged over a limited period prior to the normal retirement date (or earlier date of leaving) or the actual final salary). The pension scheme definition is usually more restrictive than the IR’s final remuneration definition. See FINAL SALARY SCHEME.

IR definition, more generous than scheme definitions, provides that the final remuneration should be not greater than either: (a) the average total earnings liable to Schedule E tax over three or more consecutive years in the 10 preceding retirement; or (b) basic annual pay of an employee liable to Schedule E tax for any one year of the five preceding retirement plus certain bonuses and commission averaged over a period and benefits in kind. Adjustments can be made using dynamisation. The limit affects how much of a member’s earnings can be taken into account when IR calculates the maximum benefit available under an approved scheme.

The main type of defined benefit scheme. The pension is a proportion of final salary based on an accrual rate, e.g. onesixtieth, for each year of scheme membership plus any added years. Forty years produces the maximum allowable pension. Scheme trustees must ensure that contribution levels are sufficient to deliver the pensions promised. Members can commute part of their rights into a tax-free lump seem equal to 1.5 times the final salary. See FINAL PENSIONABLE SALARY; FINAL REMUNERATION.

CII qualification. The only broad-based qualification specifically designed for administrative staff working in life and pensions offices.

Person appointed by an independent intermediary or appointed representative to provide a range of financial services. If they advise on or arrange certain types of investment (pensions, life insurance, unit trusts and shares) they and the companies they represent must be FSAauthorised. Financial advisers just advising on loans, most mortgages, general insurance or bank/building society accounts do not have to be FSAauthorised until October 2004 in the case of mortgage advisers and January 2005 in the case of general insurance and term insurance advisers. Some financial advisers sell the products of a single firm while others, independent financial advisers, base their advice on all products in the market.