Glossary

The crisis management approach is a process whereby the major incidents or accidents that can lead to a crisis for an organization are identified and extensive plans to mitigate the effects of such incidents should they occur are developed. Crisis management involves effective planning, organizing, leading, and controlling activities and assets in the critical time immediately before, during, and after a major incident. A risk manager should be actively involved in the crisis management process.

Crisis management coverage is an insuring agreement found within technology errors and omissions (E&O) and Internet/online property and liability insurance policies. Subject to a sublimit (e.g., $25,000–$50,000), crisis management coverage generally reimburses expenses incurred to restore confidence in the security of the insured's computer system. For example, a crisis management firm might be hired to develop a program for reassuring the customers of an online retailer that, following a breach of the retailer's security system, the system has been reconfigured to prevent future breaches.

A crisis management plan outlines actions to be taken immediately before, during, and after a catastrophic event to preserve lives, safeguard property, and reduce the loss of resources essential to the organization's recovery. A crisis management plan is part of a broader business continuity management plan.

The 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA) required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for certain pollutants known to be hazardous to human health, which are called criteria pollutants. The EPA has identified and set standards to protect human health and welfare for six pollutants: ozone, carbon monoxide, total suspended particulates, sulfur dioxide, lead, and nitrogen oxide. The term "criteria pollutants" derives from the requirement that the EPA must describe the characteristics and potential health and welfare effects of these pollutants. It is on the basis of these criteria that standards are set or revised.

Critical illness insurance refers to a limited form of health insurance that pays a lump sum if the named insured is diagnosed as having one of the specific life-threatening conditions defined in the policy. Critical illness insurance is sometimes combined with life insurance, where the policy pays its benefits if the insured is diagnosed with a listed critical illness or when the insured dies, whichever happens first. Most critical illness policies cover the illnesses of advanced cases of cancer, severe heart attack, and stroke that results in permanent symptoms. Comprehensive critical illness policies cover such additional illnesses as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, severe burns, bypass surgery, renal failure, Alzheimer's, angioplasty, loss of sight, permanent loss of hearing, and organ transplant. Some critical illness policies provide coverage against the loss of a limb. Most critical illness policies will not cover any claims made as a result of self-inflicted injury or alcohol or drug abuse.

A critical recommendation is a loss control suggestion made by an insurer to its insured that is considered essential to avoid imminent loss of property or injury. These recommendations are normally based on accepted and published safety and loss prevention standards and/or governmental regulations and typically have to be fulfilled by the insured for the policy to be written.

Criticism, in an insurance context, refers to a correction suggested by a rating bureau, which, if not complied with, can result in a fine.

Crop-hail insurance is an insurance policy, marketed and underwritten by private insurers, that covers hail damage to insured crops. Farmers often purchase this coverage in areas of the country susceptible to hail, particularly for high-yielding crops. Unlike federal crop insurance, the federal government does not subsidize crop-hail insurance. Licensed insurance agents sell it, and the premiums depend, for a large part, on past loss experience. The coverage is township or county rated; in other words, the rate is determined by the historical hail loss experience of that particular township or county. The perils of fire and wind can be added to this coverage, although the availability of these extensions varies by state and by type of crop.

A cross-complainant is the "plaintiff" named in the cross-complaint.

A cross-complaint is an action brought by the defendant against the plaintiff or brought by one party against a co-party (such as a defendant against a codefendant).