F – Glossary of Insurance Terms
This page provides a glossary of insurance terms and definitions that are commonly used in the insurance business. New terms will be added to the glossary over time.
The definitions in this glossary are developed by the NAIC Research and Actuarial Department staff based on various insurance references. These definitions represent a common or general use of the term. Some words and/or phrases may be defined differently by other entities, or used in a context such that the definition shown may not be applicable. naic.org
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Face Amount – the value of a policy to be provided upon maturity date or death.
Facultative Reinsurance – reinsurance for a specific policy for which terms can be negotiated by the original insurer and reinsurer.
FAIR Plan – Fair Access to Insurance Requirements – state pools designed to provide insurance to property owners who are unable to obtain property insurance through conventional means.
Fair Value – the amount at which an asset (or liability) could be bought (or incurred) or sold (or settled) in a current transaction between willing parties, that is, other than in a forced or liquidation sale. Quoted market prices in active markets are the best evidence of fair value and shall be used as the basis for the measurement, if available. If a quoted market price is available, the fair value is the product of the number of trading units times market price.
Farmowners Insurance – farmowners insurance sold for personal, family or household purposes. This package policy is similar to a homeowners policy, in that it has been developed for farms and ranches and includes both property and liability coverage for personal and business losses. Coverage includes farm dwellings and their contents, barns, stables, other farm structures and farm inland marine, such as mobile equipment and livestock.
Federal Flood Insurance – coverage for qualifying residents and businesses in flood prone regions through the National Flood Insurance Act, a federally subsidized flood insurance program enacted in 1968.
Federally Reinsured Crop – crop insurance coverage that is either wholly or in part reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) under the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA). This includes the following products: Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI); Catastrophic Insurance, Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC); Income Protection and Revenue Assurance.
Fees Payable – fees incurred but not yet paid.
FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency – an independent agency, tasked with responding to, planning for, mitigating and recovery efforts of natural disasters.
Fidelity – a bond or policy covering an employer’s loss resulting from an employee’s dishonest act (e.g., loss of cash, securities, valuables, etc.).
Financial Guaranty – a surety bond, insurance policy, or an indemnity contract (when issued by an insurer), or similar guaranty types under which loss is payable upon proof of occurrence of financial loss to an insured claimant, obligee or indemnitee as a result of failure to perform a financial obligation or any other permissible product that is defined as or determined to be financial guaranty insurance.
Financial Reporting – insurance companies are required to maintain records and file annual and quarterly financial statements with regulators in accordance with statutory accounting principles (SAP). Statutory rules also govern how insurers should establish reserves for invested assets and claims and the conditions under which they can claim credit for reinsurance ceded.
Financial Responsibility Law – a statute requiring motorists to show capacity to pay for automobile-related losses.
Financial Statement – balance sheet and profit and loss statement of an insurance company. This statement is used by the NAIC, and by State Insurance Commissioners to regulate an insurance company according to reserve requirements, assets, and other liabilities.
Fire – coverage protecting the insured against the loss to real or personal property from damage caused by the peril of fire or lightning, including business interruption, loss of rents, etc.
Fire Legal Liability – coverage for property loss liability as the result of separate negligent acts and/or omissions of the insured that allows a spreading fire to cause bodily injury or property damage of others. An example is a tenant who, while occupying another party’s property, through negligence causes fire damage to the property.
Flood – coverage protecting the insured against loss or damage to real or personal property from flood. (Note: If coverage for flood is offered as an additional peril on a property insurance policy, file it under the applicable property insurance filing code.)
Foreign Insurer – an insurance company selling policies in a state other than the state in which they are incorporated or domiciled.
Foreign Investment – an investment in a foreign jurisdiction, or an investment in a person, real estate or asset domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction. An investment shall not be deemed to be foreign if the issuing person, qualified primary credits source or qualified guarantor is a domestic jurisdiction or a person domiciled in a domestic jurisdiction, unless: a) The issuing person is a shell business entity; and b) The investment is not assumed, accepted, guaranteed or insured or otherwise backed by a domestic jurisdiction or a person, that is not a shell business entity, domiciled in a domestic jurisdiction.
Foreign jurisdiction – a jurisdiction outside of the United States, Canada or any province or political subdivision of the foregoing.
Fraternal Insurance – a form of group coverage or disability insurance available to members of a fraternal organization.
Fronting – an arrangement in which a primary insurer acts as the insurer of record by issuing a policy, but then passes the entire risk to a reinsurer in exchange for a commission. Often, the fronting insurer is licensed to do business in a state or country where the risk is located, but the reinsurer is not.
