Glossary

An agent of record is the individual insurance agent or insurance agency authorized by an insured to represent the insured in the purchase, servicing, and maintenance of its insurance program with a designated insurer. Most insurance companies will not disclose any information or discuss an insured's account with any agent other than the agent of record. An insured wishing to change insurance agents must submit a revised agent of record letter to the insurer authorizing them to release the insured's information and to discuss the insured's coverage with the new agent.

An agent's license is a state-issued permit under whose provisions the agent conducts business.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 is a law that prohibits the making of employment decisions (e.g., hiring, promotion) based on age. It applies to employees or applicants who are 40 years or older and to companies with 20 or more employees. The ADEA specifies various remedies if a firm is found to have violated the law. Some of these include hiring an applicant who was discriminated against, reinstating a terminated employee, and paying of back wages, liquidated damages, "front" pay until an employee reaches the age of 70, court costs, and attorneys' fees.

Aggravation is a worsening of a preexisting condition where the underlying pathology of the condition is permanently advanced.

An aggregate is a limit in an insurance policy stipulating the most it will pay for all covered losses sustained during a specified period of time, usually a year. Aggregate limits are commonly included in liability policies. While not often used in property insurance, aggregates are sometimes included with respect to certain catastrophic exposures—for example, earthquake and flood. Aggregate limits are also the dollar amount of reinsurance coverage during one specified period, usually 12 months, for all reinsurance losses sustained under a treaty during such period.

The aggregate deductible is the maximum amount the insured can pay as deductibles over a specified period, typically 1 year. It offers protection to the insured from a high frequency of losses.

Aggregate excess insurance provides coverage once the total claims for an annual period exceed a predetermined retention amount. The retention can be stated as a flat dollar amount (often calculated as a percentage of expected losses), as a percentage of standard premium, or in terms of a specific loss ratio.

Aggregate excess of loss reinsurance is a form of reinsurance that stipulates participation by the reinsurer when aggregate excess losses for the primary insurer exceed a certain stated retention level.

An aggregate limits reinstatement is a clause contained in the extended reporting provisions of some claims-made policies that reinstates—for the term of the extended reporting period (ERP)—the original policy limits of liability if they have been reduced or impaired by the payment of claims or the setting of claim reserves.

The aggregate limit of liability is an insurance contract provision limiting the maximum liability of an insurer for a series of losses in a given time period—for example, a year or for the entire period of the contract.