Glossary

A compensating balance plan is an insurance cash flow plan whereby the insurer, in an account specifically set up for the plan, collects premiums and deposits them in the insured's bank. Although the account is in the insurer's name, the insured's bank recognizes the funds as the insured's compensating balance, freeing the insured's funds.

Compensatory damages is a sum of money to which a plaintiff is entitled that, so far as is possible, makes amends for the actual loss sustained.

Competitive bidding involves an insured requesting coverage and premium quotations on its insurance program from a number of agents/brokers. In some instances, insureds provide agents/brokers with detailed specifications upon which to base their quotations. Under other circumstances, conceptual proposals are requested under which the agents/brokers present proposals for coverage reflecting their own ideas for structuring the insured's program.

Competitive state funds are state-owned and -operated facilities that compete with commercial insurers in writing workers compensation insurance in that state. Note that several of these funds also write workers compensation in additional states. The states with these funds are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah.

A complaint is the original or initial pleading by which a legal action is commenced under the Codes and Rules of Civil Procedure. The pleading sets forth a claim for relief that includes (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court has jurisdiction, (2) a short and plain statement of the claim stating that the pleader is entitled to relief, and (3) a demand for judgment for the relief sought.

Under a general liability policy, completed operations (C/O) refers to work of the insured that has been completed as called for in a contract or work completed at a single jobsite under a contract involving multiple jobsites or work that has been put to its intended use.

Complete retention is a risk financing tactic in which the organization assumes the entire risk of loss, rather than transferring that risk to another entity, such as an insurer.

The Compliance and Ethics Forum for Life Insurers (CEFLI) is a nonprofit organization formed in 2011 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, that provides a forum to serve the needs of the life insurance industry's compliance and ethics professionals.

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score was an initiative rolled out in December 2010 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to improve large truck safety by reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on the road. The score is calculated using a Safety Measurement System (SMS) based on investigations and on-road performance. SMS assesses data from seven areas called BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories)—unsafe driving, hours-of-service compliance, driver fitness, controlled substances/alcohol, vehicle maintenance, hazardous materials compliance, and crash indicator. SMS ranks carriers based on their BASIC measure. Scores help FMCSA identify crash high-risk carriers for interventions.

Composite rating is a method of rating insurance premiums on a singular rate developed to apply to all coverages according to a selected exposure basis. It facilitates a policy's audit process.