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Products and Providers terms
Who offers Homeowners Insurance and what.
AssessmentAn extra charge raised after a state-backed insurer or guaranty fund runs short of money, collected from insurers and sometimes passed on to policyholders.DepopulationA state program that moves policies out of a state-backed insurer and into private companies, shrinking the plan's exposure to the next catastrophe.Difference in conditions (DIC) policyA separate policy built to sit beside a primary policy and pay for perils and coverages the primary one leaves out, such as theft, water damage and liability.FAIR planA state pool, funded by the insurers doing business there, that sells basic property coverage to owners who cannot find it in the regular market.Florida Hurricane Catastrophe FundFlorida's state-run reinsurance program, set up after Hurricane Andrew, that reimburses residential insurers for part of their hurricane losses.Insurer of last resortA state-created or state-sponsored insurer that sells coverage to property owners who cannot get a policy from a private company.Residual marketThe state-created plans and pools that cover property owners the private market declines, as opposed to coverage insurers sell by choice.Takeout policyThe private-market policy offered to a state-backed insurer's customer when a company takes over a block of that plan's policies.Wind-only policyA policy that covers only wind and hail damage, often sold by a state wind pool to coastal homeowners whose main policy excludes wind.Price optimizationPricing a policy by how much a customer will tolerate or how likely they are to shop, not by expected loss, a practice a number of states have restricted.Rate increaseA rise in the price an insurer charges per unit of coverage, which is only one of several reasons the premium on your renewal notice can go up.Admitted insurerA company licensed by a state to sell insurance there, with its rates and forms under regulator review and its claims backed by the state guaranty fund.CancellationThe ending of a policy before its expiration date, either by the homeowner at any time or by the insurer for reasons the policy and state law allow.Excess and surplus linesThe specialty market where non-admitted insurers cover unusual, high-hazard or hard-to-place risks that standard carriers will not write at filed rates.MoratoriumA temporary legal bar, triggered by a disaster declaration, on insurers canceling or declining to renew policies in the affected area.NonrenewalAn insurer's decision to end coverage at the end of the policy period by declining to offer another term, as opposed to ending it partway through.ReinstatementPutting a canceled or lapsed policy back in force after you pay what is owed and the insurer agrees, with or without a gap in coverage.Surplus lines insurerAn insurer not licensed in a state that may write risks the standard market declines, with freer rates and forms and usually no guaranty fund backing.Underwriting guidelinesAn insurer's internal rules for which homes it will write, which it will decline, and what conditions, limits or surcharges apply to the ones it accepts.Wildfire risk scoreA number a modeling vendor assigns to a property to estimate its exposure to wildfire, which insurers use to accept, price or decline coverage.Base flood elevation (BFE)The height, in feet above a standard reference level, that floodwater is expected to reach in a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any year.Catastrophic ground cover collapseA Florida-defined event in which the ground abruptly collapses, a visible depression forms, the building is structurally damaged and authorities condemn it.Defensible spaceThe managed buffer of trimmed, thinned and cleared vegetation around a house that slows a wildfire and gives firefighters room to defend the structure.Earth movementA group of ground-shifting events, including earthquake, landslide, mudflow, subsidence and sinkhole, that homeowners policies exclude from coverage.Earthquake deductibleThe share of the insured value you pay before earthquake coverage responds, expressed as a percentage that is far higher than a regular home deductible.Earthquake insuranceSeparate coverage, or an add-on endorsement, for damage from ground shaking, which standard homeowners policies exclude as earth movement.Elevation certificateA form completed by a licensed surveyor, engineer or architect that records a building's key elevations against the mapped base flood elevation.Excess flood insuranceExtra flood coverage that sits above a primary flood policy, usually the NFIP maximum, to pay for losses beyond the first policy's limits.Flood exclusionThe standard homeowners provision that excludes flood, surface water, tides and overflowing water bodies, leaving flood damage to a separate flood policy.Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)FEMA's official map of a community showing flood zones, base flood elevations and floodways, which lenders use to decide whether flood insurance is required.Flood zoneA map designation, such as Zone AE, VE or X, that classifies a property's flood risk and helps decide whether a lender will require flood insurance.FORTIFIED HomeA voluntary construction standard from the insurer-funded IBHS that strengthens a house against wind, hail and storm damage, with certified designations.Hail damageDents, bruises, cracks and punctures that falling ice causes to roofs, siding, windows and outdoor equipment, covered under the windstorm or hail peril.Hurricane deductibleA separate amount you pay first, usually a percentage of the dwelling limit, that applies to wind damage from a hurricane in place of your regular flat amount.Ice damA ridge of ice at a roof's edge that traps melting snow and forces water under the shingles and into the house, a common winter source of ceiling damage.Increased cost of compliance (ICC)Flood policy coverage of up to $30,000, apart from the damage claim, toward elevating, relocating or demolishing a substantially damaged building.Named storm deductibleA separate amount you pay first, often a percentage of the dwelling limit, when damage comes from any storm the National Hurricane Center has named.National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)The federal program, run by FEMA since 1968, that makes flood insurance available to owners and renters in communities that adopt floodplain management rules.Private flood insuranceFlood coverage issued on an insurer's own form and rates instead of through the federal program, which a lender may accept in place of an NFIP policy.Risk Rating 2.0FEMA's current method of pricing NFIP flood policies by each home's own flood risk and rebuilding cost rather than mainly by flood zone and elevation.Sinkhole lossStructural damage to a building, including its foundation, caused by ground settling into underground voids, excluded unless the policy adds sinkhole coverage.Special flood hazard area (SFHA)The land FEMA maps as having at least a 1% chance of flooding in any year, where lenders must require flood insurance on federally backed mortgages.Storm surgeThe abnormal rise of seawater that a hurricane or strong storm pushes onshore above the normal tide, treated as flood and excluded from homeowners policies.Surface waterRain or melted snow that spreads across the ground without a defined channel, treated as flood damage and excluded from homeowners policies.Wind exclusionA provision or endorsement that removes wind and hail from a homeowners policy, so the home needs separate wind coverage from a wind pool or another insurer.Wind/hail deductibleA separate amount you pay first, flat or a percentage of the dwelling limit, on damage from wind or hail in place of the standard flat amount.WindstormThe peril of damage from high winds, including hurricanes, tornadoes and thunderstorm gusts, which most policies cover, sometimes with a separate deductible.Write Your Own (WYO) insurerA private insurance company that sells and services federal flood policies under its own name while the federal government carries the flood losses.Actual cash valueWhat an insurer pays for damaged property: the cost to repair or replace it today, minus a deduction for age and wear, so less than a new-for-old payment.Additional living expensesThe increase in your normal costs of living, such as hotel bills, restaurant meals and extra mileage, after a covered loss forces you out of your home.AdjusterThe person who investigates a reported loss, decides what the policy covers and how much it will pay, and negotiates the settlement.Assignment of benefitsA signed agreement that transfers your right to claim payments to a contractor or other vendor, who then deals with the insurer directly.Claim numberThe reference code an insurer assigns when it opens a file on your loss, used to track the adjuster's notes, estimates, payments and correspondence.CollapseUnder most policies, the abrupt falling down or caving in of a building or part of it so it cannot be used as intended, covered only for listed causes.Constructive total lossA loss where the building is not wholly destroyed but repair would cost so much, or be so restricted by law, that it is treated as a total loss.Contents inventoryAn itemized list of belongings that were damaged, destroyed or stolen, with quantity, description, age and cost, used to support a personal property claim.Debris removalCoverage for hauling away the wreckage of covered property after a loss, and in limited cases fallen trees, with a small allowance beyond the limit.DepreciationThe loss in an item's value from age, wear and obsolescence, which an adjuster subtracts when pricing what a claim should pay.Desk adjusterA claims adjuster who handles a claim from an office or home by phone, email, photos and estimating software, usually without visiting the property in person.Duties after lossThe steps a homeowners policy requires after damage occurs: reporting it, protecting the property, documenting the loss and cooperating with the insurer.First notice of lossThe first report you or your agent makes to the insurer that damage has occurred, which opens the file and starts the insurer's response deadlines.Gradual damageHarm that builds up over weeks, months or years, such as a slow leak, rot or corrosion, which most homeowners policies exclude.HoldbackThe part of a claim payment the insurer keeps back until repairs are finished and documented, usually the depreciation on a replacement cost claim.Independent adjusterA claims adjuster who works for an adjusting firm or on contract, hired and paid by insurers to handle claims, especially surges after storms and wildfires.MatchingWhether an insurer must also replace undamaged siding, shingles or flooring so repaired areas look uniform, which depends on state rules and policy wording.Mitigation of damagesYour duty to take reasonable steps after a loss, such as tarping a roof or shutting off water, to keep damage from spreading; the policy usually pays for it.Mold exclusionPolicy wording that removes or caps coverage for mold, fungus and wet rot, usually leaving a small limit for growth that follows a covered water loss.NeglectFailure to use all reasonable means to save and protect property at and after the time of a loss, which the policy excludes to the extent the damage grows.Non-recoverable depreciationThe age-and-wear deduction an insurer takes from a claim payment and never pays back, because the policy settles at depreciated value or repairs are not made.Proof of lossA signed, sworn statement of what happened and what you are claiming, which most policies require within a set number of days.Public adjusterA licensed claims professional hired by the policyholder, not the insurer, who documents and negotiates the claim for a fee, usually a share of the payout.Reasonable repairsCoverage for the cost of temporary steps you take to stop covered damage from getting worse, such as tarping a roof or boarding up a broken window.Recoverable depreciationThe part of a replacement cost payment an insurer withholds at first and releases after you finish the repair or replacement and send proof of the cost.SalvageWhat remains of damaged property after a loss, and the insurer's option to take it or deduct its leftover value once the claim is paid.Scope of lossThe written list of damaged areas and repairs an adjuster decides are needed and covered, which becomes the basis for the estimate and the payment.Staff adjusterA claims adjuster who is a direct employee of an insurance company and handles that insurer's claims under its own guidelines and settlement authority.SubrogationThe insurer's right, after paying your claim, to step into your place and recover that money from whoever caused the loss.Sudden and accidentalWording insurers use to separate covered, abrupt losses such as a burst pipe from slow, foreseeable damage like a leak that has dripped for months.Supplemental claimA request for more money on a loss you already reported, usually for damage found or costs incurred after the first estimate was written.Total lossA loss in which the home is destroyed or too damaged to repair, so the insurer pays toward rebuilding up to the dwelling limit rather than for repairs.Water damage exclusionPolicy language that excludes certain kinds of water loss, either the standard flood, backup and groundwater group or a broader endorsement an insurer adds.Wear and tearThe slow breakdown of materials from age, weather and ordinary use, which homeowners policies exclude because insurance pays for sudden loss, not upkeep.XactimateEstimating software from Verisk that adjusters and contractors use to price repairs line by line from regional unit-cost price lists.ACV roof endorsementAn endorsement that pays wind and hail roof damage at replacement cost less depreciation, even when the rest of the home is settled at full replacement cost.Claims-free discountA premium credit for homeowners with no paid claims over a set number of recent years, verified from the insurer's records and claims history reports.Class 4 roofA roof covering that earned the top impact rating under the UL 2218 test, which simulates hail with a dropped steel ball, and that insurers may discount.Cosmetic damage exclusionAn endorsement that excludes hail dents, pitting and surface marks that do not stop a roof or siding from doing its job, often in exchange for a lower premium.Four-point inspectionA limited inspection of an older home's roof, electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems that insurers may require before writing a policy.Home hardeningUpgrades to a house's roof, openings, vents and materials so it resists a specific hazard such as wind, hail or wildfire embers, not just insures against it.Impact-resistant roofA roof built with a covering tested to withstand hail and debris impact, which can earn a premium credit from some insurers in hail-prone states.Mitigation creditA premium discount for building features shown to reduce storm or wildfire damage, such as a reinforced roof, impact windows or defensible space.Multi-policy discountA premium reduction for buying your home policy and another policy, usually auto, from the same insurer or insurance group.Opening protectionImpact-rated glass or tested shutters over a home's windows, doors, skylights and garage door that keep debris and wind from breaching the walls in a storm.Protective device discountA premium credit for installing safety equipment such as monitored burglar or fire alarms, sprinklers, smoke detectors, deadbolts or water-leak shutoffs.Roof surfacing payment scheduleAn endorsement that pays roof damage as a set percentage of replacement cost based on the roof's age and material, not full cost or a depreciation estimate.Roof-to-wall connectionThe hardware that fastens roof rafters or trusses to the top of the walls, which decides whether a high wind can lift the roof off the house.Secondary water resistanceA second layer on the roof deck, such as a self-adhering membrane over the seams, that keeps rain out of the house if the shingles blow off in a storm.Wind mitigation inspectionAn inspector's checklist of a house's storm-resistant features, such as roof fastening and window protection, that insurers use to apply wind discounts.