Glossary

All risks coverage is property insurance covering loss arising from any fortuitous cause except those that are specifically excluded. This is in contrast to named perils coverage, which applies only to loss arising out of causes that are listed as covered. Although many industry practitioners continue to use the term "all risks" to describe this approach to defining covered causes of loss in a property insurance policy, it is no longer used in insurance policies because of concern that the word "all" suggests coverage that is broader than it actually is. Because of this concern, some industry practitioners use the term "open perils" or "special perils" instead of "all risks."

All risks difference-in-conditions (DIC) coverage is an enhancement to a contractor's master builders risk policy to ensure the contractor's scope of coverage when the builders risk policy provided by an upstream party is less broad than the contractor's policy. Often, the owner (or general contractor) will purchase builders risk insurance on a particular project that is not as broad as the coverage that the general contractor (or subcontractor) ordinarily purchases or that has a much higher deductible than the general contractor (or subcontractor) ordinarily purchases. In such cases, the general contractor (or subcontractor) can purchase a builders risk DIC policy that covers any loss excluded or under the deductible of the owner's or general contractor's program—subject to the exclusions and deductible in the DIC policy.

All risks, ground and flight, provides all risks hull coverage for the described aircraft whether or not the aircraft is in flight at the time of loss.

All risks, not in motion, is a coverage under aviation insurance policies that provides all risks hull coverage for the described aircraft while not in motion—that is, on the ground and not in motion under its own power. Coverage applies for a loss occurring while the aircraft is being pushed or towed. A taxiing aircraft is considered to be in motion.

An alteration of medical records exclusion can be found within the majority of physicians professional liability insurance policy forms with the purpose of eliminating coverage for claims involving the alteration of medical records. The following scenario illustrates how this exclusion would apply. An anesthesiologist used the wrong type of anesthetic on a patient, given the nature and duration of the operation being performed. As a result of the error, the patient woke up before the operation was completed and eventually sues the anesthesiologist. But before receiving the lawsuit, the anesthesiologist changed the patient's medical record to indicate that he used the correct type of anesthetic. This exclusion would eliminate coverage for the patient's lawsuit, given the dishonest nature of the anesthesiologist's conduct in deliberately changing the patient's medical record in an attempt to absolve himself from liability. The rationale for this exclusion is that, in the vast majority of situations where physicians alter medical records, they do so in an attempt to remove or eliminate evidence of their medical negligence in treating a patient. Accordingly, it is not the intent of insurers to cover intentionally dishonest conduct of this kind.

An alternate employer endorsement is an endorsement added to a workers compensation policy that provides an entity scheduled as an alternate employer with primary workers compensation and employers liability coverage as if it were an insured under the policy. This endorsement is commonly used when a temporary help agency (the insured) is required by its customer (the alternate employer) to protect the alternate employer from claims brought by the insured's employees.

The Alternative Assessment Procedure (AAP) is a special agreement between the Canadian provincial workers compensation funds that provides trucking companies with an optional assessment program that simplifies the reporting of payrolls and payment of premium in the various jurisdictions. Employers register in all provinces where their workers reside and then report the full payroll for each worker in the province of the worker's residence.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a method for resolving legal disputes other than full litigation through formal trial. Examples of ADR include mediation and arbitration. Arbitration proceedings are one of the most commonly used ADR techniques.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provisions are found within professional liability policies mandating that disputes regarding the application of coverage under the policy will be resolved by ADR approaches (generally arbitration), rather than through the traditional court system. Some policies contain mandatory arbitration provisions, stating that disputes must be settled in this manner. In contrast, other ADR provisions afford the insured the option—but not the obligation—to submit such disputes to arbitration. The latter version of this provision is more advantageous for the insured.

Alternative litigation financing (ALF) refers to any method of funding legal disputes outside of traditional means, such as self-funding or contingency fee arrangements with attorneys. It includes third-party litigation financing but also encompasses other financial structures.