Term Life Insurance Glossary
U
Underwriter
(1) The person who assesses and classifies the degree of risk that a proposed insured represents.
(2) The person or organization that guarantees that money will be available to pay for losses that are insured against. In this sense, the insurance company is the underwriter.
Underwriting
(1) The process of assessing and classifying the degree of risk that a proposed insured represents. Also called selection of risks.
(2) Providing guarantees that money will be available to pay for losses that are insured against.
Underwriting Department
The department in a life and health insurance company that selects the risks that the company will insure. The underwriting department tries to make sure that the actual mortality or morbidity rates of the company’s insureds do not exceed the rates assumed when premium rates were calculated. The underwriter considers an applicant’s age, weight, physical condition, personal and family medical history, occupation, financial resources, and other selection factors to determine the degree of risk represented by the proposed insured. This department also participates in the negotiation and management of reinsurance agreements, through which an insurance company transfers some or all of an insurance risk to another insurance company. Also called the new business department.
Underwriting Impairments
Factors that tend to increase an individual’s risk above that which is normal for his or her age.
Underwriting Requirements
Printed instructions that indicate what evidence of insurability is required for a given situation and which of several optional information sources will be needed to provide underwriters with necessary information. Sources of information may include medical records and the results of physical examinations. Underwriting requirements are graduated based on the proposed insured’s age and the amount of coverage requested.
Uninsurable Risk Class
The group of people with a risk of loss so great that a life insurance company will not offer them term life insurance.
Universal Life Insurance
A form of permanent life insurance that is characterized by its flexible premiums, flexible face amounts, and unbundled pricing factors.
See also bundled insurance product. For other information about universal life insurance, see corridor, option A plan, and option B plan.
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