Glossary

Situs is one of two tests utilized to determine if an employee qualifies as a longshoreman or harbor worker under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). To qualify for coverage under the LHWCA, the employee must prove "situs." Situs requires their employment be on, above, or below navigable waters and the adjoining areas. However, merely working over or around water does not by itself qualify an employee for benefits under the LHWCA, as the employee must also meet the "status" test.

In commercial automobile insurance, size class describes the type and weight of the automobile—that is, gross vehicle weight for trucks, gross combined weight for trucks-tractors, and load capacity for trailers. Automobiles are classified by vehicle size, with higher rates applying to larger vehicles.

Skilled nursing care refers to a high level of care including services that can only be performed safely and correctly by a licensed nurse (either a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse) or therapist (such as physical, speech, or occupational).

Slabbed is a term arising out of Hurricane Katrina claims. It means near complete destruction of a structure and elimination of the remains from its location. A "slabbed" home is one that is wiped away, down to its flat, concrete foundation, due to a catastrophic event such as a hurricane or tornado.

Slander is the oral statement of untrue, defamatory remarks that lower a person's esteem in their community that gives rise to a legal cause of action against the speaker. Standard commercial general liability insurance policies apply to slander and libel claims made against the insured. Slander is distinguishable from libel in that slander refers to defamatory statements that are spoken, while libel refers to defamatory statements that are written.

Sleep insurance refers to those types of catastrophe insurance coverages that allow management to sleep at night. Such covers protect a company from a devastating yet unlikely event, such as coverage for earthquake or other high excess layers of property coverage. These lines provide coverage for events for which there is a very low likelihood of occurrence; therefore, meeting the requirement for a reasonable possibility of loss may be problematic. But common practice has evolved such that these types of contacts are considered valid insurance and reinsurance contracts.

A sliding scale commission is a ceding commission that varies inversely with the loss ratio under the reinsurance agreement. The scales are not always one to one; for example, as the loss ratio decreases by 1 percent, the ceding commission might only increase by 50 basis points.

Sliding scale dividend is a rating plan used with workers compensation insurance under which the amount of the dividend is a function of the insured's loss experience. Dividends are paid based on the ratio the final audited premium bears to the total incurred losses of the insured for the specific policy period. Since losses stay open for several years after policy expiration, periodic dividend adjustments are made after the initial reconciliation. While dividends are not guaranteed, generally speaking, the lower the insured's losses, the higher the dividend will be.

Slip is the term for the piece of paper containing all the pertinent information regarding the risk and the insurance terms and conditions that the broker submits to the underwriter at Lloyd's of London. Should the underwriter decide to participate on the risk, the percentage and pricing are recorded in addition to the underwriter's signature. The process is then repeated until the slip is completely filled. The slip forms the basis for the insurance coverage contract and, in the event of a difference in wording between the slip and the policy issued from it, the slip supersedes the policy as the binding insurance document.

A small deductible plan is a cash flow workers compensation insurance option that allows the insured to retain a portion of each loss through a small deductible and to transfer onto an insurer losses in excess of that deductible. The advantage for the insured is a premium cost savings, and the insurer also handles losses falling below the deductible and bills back these costs to the insured. This program is allowed in most jurisdictions with the majority of small deductible plans applying to both medical and indemnity (lost-time) claims.