Glossary

Clinical patterns are standardized medical procedures or routines for treating specific medical conditions. When clinical patterns become an accepted standard of care and are followed by physicians and hospitals, their exposure to claims alleging medical malpractice is generally reduced. However, the reverse is also true, so that when treatment deviates from an accepted clinical pattern, the exposure is increased.

Closed-loop recycling involves reclaiming or reusing wastewater for nonpotable purposes in an enclosed process.

Cloud computing is a method of delivering information technology services (i.e., hardware and software) in which resources are hosted and retrieved from the Internet through Web-based tools and applications, rather than a direct connection to a local server. The cloud computing structure allows access to information as long as an electronic device has access to the Web. The word "cloud" is used as an analogy for the "Internet," because many network diagrams use the image of a cloud to represent the Internet.

Co-surety describes the situation where multiple sureties combine to provide a bond that the individual sureties are capable of, or interested in, writing alone. In a co-surety situation, each surety is jointly and severally liable for the full bond amount.

Coded excess is a form of excess of loss reinsurance under which different premium rates are applied to successive bands of primary coverage limits. Coded excess is considered more accurate in measuring exposure than averaging methods.

A codefendant is when there is more than one defendant being sued in the same litigation or more than one person charged in the same complaint. A codefendant is a one of multiple defendants named in the lawsuit.

Coding is the process of translating alphabetic and numeric information into a concise numeric form for statistical or internal recording.

Coemployer refers to either the employee leasing company or the client company in an employee leasing arrangement. Because both firms essentially share employees, and this creates ambiguity as to who is the statutory employer for the purpose of the provision of workers compensation, numerous jurisdictions have designated the employee leasing company/professional employer organization (PEO) and the client company as coemployers and afforded them both the protection of exclusive remedy when specific statutory requirements are met by the two parties.

Coemployment is a term used in employee leasing arrangements to describe the relationship between the employee leasing company, the client company, and the leased employees. Because both firms essentially share employees and this creates ambiguity as to who is the statutory employer for the purpose of the provision of workers compensation, numerous jurisdictions have designated the employee leasing company/professional employer organization (PEO) and the client company as coemployers and afforded them both the protection of exclusive remedy when specific statutory requirements are met by the two parties.

Coincidental excess coverage refers to the insurance provided by what would otherwise be a primary policy but contains an "excess" type other insurance clause stating that, with respect to a particular set of circumstances only, the policy is providing excess coverage. In other words, the status of the insurance as excess rests on a coincidence of factual circumstances. For example, a business auto policy (BAP) may contain another insurance provision stating that it is providing excess coverage for any nonowned vehicle. For owned autos, the BAP would provide ordinary primary coverage, but for nonowned autos, the BAP would provide coincidental excess coverage.