Glossary

Special waiver refers to operations conducted under a special permit or waiver required by the Federal Aviation Administration. These could include maintenance flights and ferry flights of damaged aircraft or the carrying of hazardous materials. Some aircraft policies exclude flights conducted under this waiver.

Specifications is a broad term to describe a detailed summary of desired attributes for a product or service being sought. Insurance specifications, for example, provide a detailed description of the coverage types, amounts, and policy provisions submitted to an insurer to use in preparing a proposal. Insurance specifications also typically include the underwriting data the insurer will need to price the required coverages. In construction, specifications are provided by the owner to the architect outlining the desired functions and performance attributes of the project.

Specific excess insurance provides coverage once claims arising out of a single occurrence exceed the retention specified in the policy declarations.

The specific loss limit is the amount of risk retained by an insured or an insurer on a per occurrence basis.

Specific rating is an Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), property insurance rating method based on rates applicable only to individual properties, determined by physical inspection of the property.

Specified causes of loss coverage is a type of auto physical damage coverage that is an alternative to comprehensive coverage. The coverage applies only for losses caused by the perils listed, as compared to the "all risks" nature of comprehensive coverage.

A specified holder in Internal Revenue Service parlance (specifically, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 831(b)), with respect to an insurance company, is any individual who is a spouse or lineal descendant (including by adoption) of an individual who holds an interest, directly or indirectly, in the specified assets with respect to the insurance company.

Specified perils coverage is an obsolete auto physical damage term.

Speculative risk refers to uncertainty about an event under consideration that could produce either a profit or a loss, such as a business venture or a gambling transaction. A pure risk is generally insurable while speculative risk is usually not.

Speed to market is the difference between the time it takes for an insurer to file a newly developed product with insurance regulators and the time when the product can be offered in the marketplace. It is an initiative of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to achieve a faster turnaround time for new and innovative insurance products.