| Early Retirement | |
| Retirement of a participant prior to the normal retirement date, usually with a reduced amount of annuity. Early retirement is generally allowed at any time during a period of 5 to 10 years preceding the normal retirement date. | |
| Earned Income | |
| Employment income derived from salary, wages, commissions, or fees. | |
| Earned Premium | |
| 1) The part of the total property/casualty policy premium which applies to the portion of the policy period which has already expired. 2) The portion of a premium which is the property of an insurance company, based on the expired portion of the policy period. For example, a $300 premium for a one-year policy beginning July 1 would amount to an earned premium of $150 the following January 1. 3) That portion of a policy's premium payment for which the protection of the policy has already been given. For example, an insurance company is considered to have earned 75 percent of an annual premium after a period of nine months of an annual term has elapsed. |
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| Earnings Test (Retirement Test) | |
| Determination of the amount of Social Security benefits payable to a beneficiary after adjusting for earnings; the amount of earnings allowed before his or her benefits is indexed annually. Benefits are reduced by $1 for every $3 of earnings (beginning in 1990) above the earnings test threshold. | |
| Economic Loss | |
| The estimated total cost, both insured and uninsured, of mishaps (such as motor vehicle accidents, work accidents, and fires); includes such factors as property damage, funeral expenses, wage loss, insurance administration costs, and medical, hospital and legal costs. | |
| Economic Policy | |
| Special type of participating whole life insurance in which the dividends are used to buy term insurance or paid-up additions equal to the difference between the face amount of the policy and some guaranteed amount. | |
| Effective Date | |
| The date on which the insurance under a policy begins. | |
| Elements of a Negligent Act | |
| Four elements an injured person must show to prove negligence: existence of a legal duty to use reasonable care, failure to perform that duty, damages or injury to the claimant, and proximate cause relationship between the negligent act and the infliction of damages. | |
| Eligibility Date | |
| The date on which an individual member of a specified group becomes eligible to apply for insurance under the (group life or health) insurance plan. | |
| Eligibility Period | |
| A specified length of time, frequently 31 days, following the eligibility date during which an individual member of a particular group will remain eligible to apply for insurance under a group life or health insurance policy without evidence of insurability. | |
| Eligibility Requirements | |
| This term refers to (1) the conditions which an employee must satisfy to participate in a retirement plan, one such condition begin the completion from 1 to 3 years of service with the employer, another the attainment of a specified age, such as 25, or (2) conditions which an employee must satisfy to obtain a retirement benefit, such as the completion of 15 years of service and the attainment of age 65. |
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| Eligible Employees | |
| Those members of a group who have met the eligibility requirements under a group life or health insurance plan. | |
| Elimination Period | |
| A period of time between the period of disability and the start of disability income insurance benefits, during which no benefits are payable. (See Waiting Period.) | |
| Elimination Period | |
| A specified number of days at the beginning of each period of disability during which no disability income benefits are paid. The elimination period may be as short as a few days or as long as one year or more. | |
| Embezzlement | |
| Fraudulent use or taking of another's property or money which has been entrusted to one's care. | |
| Employee Dishonesty Coverage Form | |
| Commercial crime insurance form drafted by the Insurance Services Office that covers the loss of money, securities, and other covered property because of any dishonest act of a covered employee or employees. | |
| Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) | |
| Legislation passed in 1974 applying to most private pension and welfare plans that requires certain minimum standards to protect participating employees. | |
| Employment Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) | |
| A defined contribution pension plan which is designed to invest primarily in employer securities. | |
| Endorsements | |
| An additional piece of paper, not a part of the original contract, which cites certain terms and which, when attached to the original contract, becomes a legal part of that contract. | |
| Endorsement | |
| An amendment of the policy usually by means of a rubber stamp or rider. | |
| Endowment | |
| Life insurance payable to the policyholder if living, on the maturity date stated in the policy, or to a beneficiary if the insured dies prior to that date. | |
| Enrolled Actuary | |
| A person who performs actuarial service for a plan and who is enrolled with the Federal Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries. | |
| Enrollment Card | |
| A document signed by an employee as notice of his/her desire to participate in the benefits of a group insurance plan. | |
| Entire Contract Clause | |
| Provision in life insurance policies stating that the life insurance policy and attached application constitute the entire contract between the parties. Entity Purchase Agreement: specifies the terms for the business to buy back a deceased's share of the business's ownership. | |
| Environmental Impairment Liability Insurance | |
| A form of insurance designed to cover losses and liabilities arising from damage to property by pollution. | |
| Equities | |
| Investments in the form of ownership of property, usually common stocks, as distinguished from fixed-income bearing securities, such as bonds or mortgages. | |
| Equity in the Unearned Premium Reserve | |
| Amount by which an unearned premium reserve is overstated because it is established on the basis of gross premium rather than net premium. | |
| ERISA | |
| See Employee Retirement Income Security Act. | |
| Errors and Omissions Insurance | |
| Liability insurance policy that provides protection against loss incurred by a client because of some negligent act, error, or omission by the insured. | |
| Estate | |
| The assets and liabilities of a person left at death. | |
| Estate Planning | |
| Developing a plan to transfer all of your property from one generation to the next or within a generation. | |
| Estoppel | |
| Legal doctrine that prevents a person from denying the truth of a previous representation of fact, especially when such representation has been relied on by the one to whom the statement was made. | |
| Errors and Omissions Insurance | |
| A form of insurance that indemnifies the insured for any loss sustained because of an error or oversight on his or her part. | |
| Evidence of Insurability | |
| Any statement of proof of a person's physical condition and/or other factual information affecting his/her acceptance for insurance. | |
| Excess and Surplus Insurance | |
| 1) Insurance to cover losses above a certain amount, with losses below that amount usually covered by a regular policy. 2) Insurance to cover an unusual or one-time risk, e.g., damage to a musician's hands or the multiple perils of a convention, for which coverage is unavailable in the normal market. (See also "Umbrella Liability" and "Surplus Lines.") |
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| Exclusions | |
| Specific conditions or circumstances listed in the policy for which the policy will not provide benefit payments. | |
| Exclusive Agent | |
| An agent who is employed by one and only one insurance company and who solicits business exclusively for that company. | |
| Exclusive Remedy Doctrine | |
| Doctrine in workers compensation insurance which states that workers compensation benefits should be the exclusive or sole source of recovery for workers who have a job-related accident or disease; doctrine has been eroded by legal decisions. | |
| Exclusion or Exception | |
| Specified conditions or circumstances, listed in the policy, for which the policy will not provide benefits. | |
| Exclusion Ratio | |
| The portion of an annuity payment, considered by the tax law to be a return of your initial investment, that is not subject to income tax when received. | |
| Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) | |
| People who belong to an EPO must receive their care from affiliated providers; services rendered by unaffiliated providers are not reimbursed. | |
| Expense Loading | |
| See Loading. | |
| Expense Ratio | |
| The ratio of a company's operating expenses to premiums. | |
| Experience | |
| A term used to describe the relationship, usually expressed as a percent or ratio, of premium to claims for a plan, coverage, or benefits for a stated time period. | |
| Experience Modification Factor | |
| Used in workers compensation rating to reflect the degree to which a particular employer has experience that is better or worse that expected for that industry. Weighted by employer's credibility factor. | |
| Experience Rating | |
| The process of determining the premium rate for a group risk, wholly or partially on the basis of that group's experience. | |
| Experience Refund | |
| A provision in most group policies for the return of premium to the policyholder because of lower than anticipated claims. | |
| Exposure Unit | |
| Unit of measurement used in insurance pricing. | |
| Extended Coverage Insurance | |
| Protection for the insured against property damage caused by windstorm, hail, smoke, explosion, riot, riot attending a strike, civil commotion, vehicle, and aircraft. This is provided in conjunction with the fire insurance policy and the various "package" policies. | |
| Extended Nonowned Coverage | |
| Endorsement that can be added to an automobile liability insurance policy that covers the insured while driving any non-owned automobile on a regular basis. | |
| Extended Reporting Period | |
| An additional period of time after policy expiration during which valid claims will be paid under a claims-made policy of liability insurance. | |
| Extended Reporting Period Endorsement | |
| Added to a claims-made policy of liability insurance to provide additional period of time during which valid claims will be paid. | |
| Extended Term Insurance | |
| A form of insurance available as a nonforfeiture option. It provides the original amount of insurance for a limited period of time. | |
| Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits | |
| Additional cash benefits paid by federal-state unemployment insurance programs to workers who are involuntarily unemployed and who have exhausted their regular weekly cash benefits during periods of high unemployment. | |
| Extortion | |
| Surrender of property away from the premises as a result of a threat to do bodily harm to the named insured, relative, or invitee who is being held captive. | |
| Extra Expense Insurance | |
| Type of business income insurance that covers the extra expenses incurred to continue operations after a loss has occurred. | |