Glossary

Sprinkler leakage coverage is for property damage caused by the accidental discharge or leakage of water or other substances from automatic sprinkler systems. This coverage is included in most property insurance policies.

Spyware is a generic term typically describing software that records, without the knowledge of the computer owner, information about the user, including browser habits or other information, and then transmits that information across the Internet. Spyware can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware is often associated with software that displays advertisements or software that tracks personal or sensitive information.

An SR-22 is also called a "financial responsibility filing." It is a form that many states require a high-risk driver to file to prove that they have auto insurance.

A stabilization reserve is a type of reserve set by captives to build up a fund for a bad year. This is mainly used mainly in European domiciles.

Stacking is the application of two or more policies' limits to a single occurrence or claim. This is common with product liability, construction defect, and pollution claims in which the occurrence has transpired over numerous years, and it is difficult to ascertain which policy provides coverage. It can also occur under auto liability or uninsured motorists/underinsured motorists coverage in the business auto policy or the personal auto policy when two or more vehicle limits can be stacked to apply to a single occurrence.

A staff model health maintenance organization provides medical care to subscribers on an exclusive basis in a centralized medical operation. Medical services that cannot be provided internally are referred to outside providers with the health maintenance organization (HMO) picking up the costs. Physicians on staff of the HMO are compensated through a salary and bonus plan.

The grant of staff privileges entitles a physician to admit patients to a given hospital or allied healthcare facility (such as an outpatient surgical center) and perform certain treatments there (usually surgery). Credentialing committees within hospitals review the professional backgrounds and educational training of physicians prior to granting them permission to admit and treat patients. A grant of staff privileges also states the specific treatments and procedures that the specialist will be allowed to provide and perform. Additionally, hospitals require proof of professional liability insurance, details regarding prior professional liability claims, and information concerning any underwriting action taken against a physician (e.g., cancellation of coverage) before a hospital agrees to grant staff privileges. The refusal to grant staff privileges by credentialing committees is a frequent source of claims brought against both the hospitals and the individual physicians who serve on such committees by physicians who have been refused admitting privileges. As a result, both physicians professional liability policies and hospital professional liability policy forms explicitly cover what are known as "credentialing claims."

A staff underwriter is an insurance company underwriting professional who helps develop, interpret, and apply underwriting policy, guidelines, pricing standards, and risk selection practices for a line of business or product area. Compared to a line underwriter, who typically evaluates individual submissions and renewals, a staff underwriter often supports underwriting management by analyzing loss experience, reviewing market and regulatory developments, conducting underwriting audits, training field or line underwriters, and recommending changes to forms, rates, eligibility rules, or authority levels. The staff underwriter helps promote consistent underwriting decisions and profitable risk selection, adheres to regulatory compliance, and provides alignment between an insurer's underwriting strategy and operations.

Stair stepping is the practice of frequently raising claim reserves to cover payments that come due.

Stamp duty is a form of premium tax in overseas insurance.