Glossary

Interest-sensitive life insurance refers to a policy that credits the policyholder with interest that is based upon the investment return earned by the insurer on all of the policies in a particular group.

The interest option is an option that a life insurance beneficiary may select as a settlement by which policy death proceeds are left on deposit with the insurer to accrue interest; the interest is paid out to the beneficiary on some regular basis, such as annually. Subject to restrictions established by the insured, the beneficiary may withdraw all or part of the principal.

Interest rate risk is the risk associated with any contractual agreement or financial transaction wherein interest income on liquid assets (1) is critical to the success of the transaction, and (2) the future value of which is not known or guaranteed. Interest rate risk may be borne by one or both counterparties to a transaction. In some transactions, the seller of the service assumes the interest rate risk but charges the customer a fee based on some estimate of the degree of risk assumed. Banks are subject to severe interest rate risk since the slightest movement in critical rates can produce significant gains or losses. Banks often use derivative hedges to limit the volatility of interest rates, thus mitigating the risk (by removing or diminishing the second definition above).

An interim bill is any bill for legal services prior to the final one. Waiting until a case is over to get paid would cause substantial cash flow problems for most law firms. Hence, they send interim bills at agreed-upon intervals throughout the life of a case or assignment.

Interim status is the period during which treatment, storage, and disposal facilities coming under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) are temporarily permitted to operate while awaiting a permanent permit. Permits issued under these circumstances are usually called "Part A" or "Part B" permits.

The Interjurisdictional Agreement on Workers Compensation is a special agreement between the Canadian provincial workers compensation funds that allows many employers to report earnings and pay premium in the province in which they are domiciled for work being performed by their workers in another province as long as that province does not require assessment there. Normally, when the other jurisdiction assesses the workers while in their jurisdiction, the province where the employer is domiciled will waive assessment for these workers for that work (no double assessment). The injured worker can choose to claim compensation in either the province where the employer is located or the province where the injury occurs.

The Interjurisdictional Trucking Agreement is a special agreement between the Canadian provincial workers compensation funds that provides trucking companies with an optional assessment program that simplifies the reporting of payrolls in the various jurisdictions. Employers register with all provinces/territories in which they providing trucking and report full payroll for each worker to the province of residency for the worker.

Interline forms in commercial insurance are standardized, multiline insurance policy forms, endorsements, notices, declarations, schedules, and policy conditions that apply to more than one coverage part within a package policy. Interline forms typically address provisions that are common across multiple coverage parts or policies, such as general conditions, administrative requirements, disclosures, or policyholder notices. They may be subject to separate regulatory filing rules.

Interlining refers to transportation of cargo by two or more carriers—for example, two motor carriers or two airlines.

An interlocutory appeal is an appeal allowed before final judgment. Insurance coverage matters typically involve two questions: is there coverage, and, if so, how much is the insurer required to pay? The coverage question normally turns on a trial judge's legal interpretation of policy language. The indemnity question is normally decided by a jury based on factual evidence of the injured party's damages. If the trial judge incorrectly determines that a claim is covered, it would be a waste of time, effort, and resources to hold an unnecessary trial on the issue of damages, obtain an unnecessary jury verdict, and then allow the insurer to take an appeal from the final judgment to have the prior incorrect coverage determination reviewed. Therefore, most states have procedural mechanisms by which insurers may request that the trial judge use their discretion to allow a special interlocutory appeal of an insurance coverage determination before the issue of damages is tried to a jury.