Glossary

Impairment capital refers to the situation in which the surplus account of a stock insurer is threatened by exhaustion and the insurer invades its capital account to meet liabilities. Some jurisdictions allow this, but most do not.

To implead is to sue, prosecute, or bring an action against. It means to bring a new party into an action.

Implied authority refers to the actions of an agent that may extend beyond the rights and powers explicitly provided in the agency contract. If these actions result in no response from the insurer, authority is extended as if these fall within the agency contract.

Implied warranty, as a point of law, is the understanding that a particular product is safe and suitable for a particular use, which the vendor knows at the time of sale the use for which the product is intended.

Improvements and betterments are permanent additions or changes made to a building by a lessee at their own expense that may not legally be removed. Property policies vary as to whether tenants' improvements and betterments are covered under the building category or under the contents category, so care must be taken to assign these values to the proper category of covered property.

In-force business refers to the total dollar amount of paid-up and current insurance policies that a life or health insurer carries on its books. A life insurance company's in-force business is the aggregate of all policy face values in its portfolio. A health insurance company's in-force business is its total premium volume. The size of life and health insurance companies is generally measured by their in-force business.

In-house counsel is an attorney employed by the corporation or organization for which legal services are provided.

The inadequate consideration exclusion is found within some directors and officers (D&O) liability policies, especially those written to cover publicly held companies. Following the purchase of one corporation by another, shareholders of the acquired organization occasionally bring lawsuits alleging that the purchase price paid by the acquirer—and, thus, the price received by the acquiree's shareholders—was too low. In other words, claims alleging inadequate consideration are based on perception of the stockholders of the acquired company that they did not receive fair compensation for their shares. Therefore, lawsuits seek compensation that represents the difference between what the acquiring company paid per share of stock and what the shareholders of the acquired company believe their shares were actually worth. The inadequate consideration exclusion is also known as the "bump up" exclusion, implying that the agreed-upon acquisition price should be "bumped up" to a figure considered more fair by the shareholders of the acquired company.

Inappropriate workplace conduct is a term used to describe a variety of claim types covered by employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies that do not include "standard" perils such as discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, or retaliation. Among the most common types of wrongful acts that fall within the scope of inappropriate workplace conduct are constructive discharge, failure to train, deprivation of a career opportunity, and wrongful discipline.

The Inchmaree clause is an ocean marine insurance provision adding coverage for damage directly resulting from the bursting of boilers, breakage of shafts, other mechanical failures, latent defects in the ship's equipment or machinery, and faults or errors in the navigation or management of the ship. The Inchamaree was a UK steamship that was damaged in a boiler explosion for which the insurer denied coverage. The British court decided in the resulting case that the explosion was not a peril of the sea and, thus, not covered. In response, insurers began offering an add-on to marine hull and cargo insurance for an additional premium, and the coverage was aptly named after the ship.