Glossary

Admiralty law is all areas of law relating to maritime activity, including personal injury (PI) liability, property damage (PD) liability, and maritime contracts.

Admitted assets are assets whose value is included in the annual statement of an insurer to the state commissioner of insurance.

An admitted company is one licensed or authorized to sell insurance to the general public. In the United States, admitted companies are licensed on a state-by-state basis and differentiated from surplus lines insurers, which are authorized to sell insurance in a state on a nonadmitted basis.

Admitted insurance is insurance written by an insurer licensed to do business in the state or country in which the insured exposure is located.

An admitted insurer is licensed to do business in the state or country in which the insured exposure is located.

Admitted reinsurance refers to reinsurance for which credit is given in the ceding company's annual statement because the reinsurer is licensed or approved to transact business in the jurisdiction where the risk is located.

An admitted reinsurer is one that has substantially complied with licensing requirements of a particular state but has not taken out a license. Reinsurance effected with an admitted reinsurer is equivalent to reinsurance with a licensed reinsurer as far as taking credit for reinsurance is concerned.

Advanced wastewater treatment is any treatment of sewage that goes beyond the secondary or biological water treatment stage and includes the removal of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen and a high percentage of suspended solids.

Most directors and officers (D&O) liability policies contain "advancement of defense costs" provisions that obligate the insurer to pay defense costs as incurred. Such provisions eliminate the need for insured directors and officers or the corporate organization to pay such costs prior to receiving reimbursement from the insurer. This is an important aspect of D&O coverage because defense expenses associated with claims against directors and officers are considerable.

Adverse selection is an imbalance in an exposure group created when persons who perceive a high probability of loss for themselves seek to buy insurance to a much greater degree than those who perceive a low probability of loss.