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Glossary of Insurance Terms

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NAIC Model Privacy Act
A model bill written by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and designed to set standards for the collection, use, and disclosure of information gathered for or by insurance institutions, agents, or insurance-support organizations.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
In the United States, an association of state insurance commissioners designed to promote consistent insurance regulation. Although the NAIC has no legal power, the recommendations of the NAIC and the actions taken at its semiannual meetings carry great weight with the individual state insurance commissioners, the state legislatures, and the insurance industry. Similar to the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators in Canada.

National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)
A voluntary association of securities firms empowered by the Maloney Act of 1938 to regulate the affairs of securities firms and to promote fair and ethical practices in the securities business.

national brokerage houses
Large, independent firms that specialize in providing risk management and employee benefits advice to large, commercial clients.

National Organization of Life and Health Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA)
In the United States, an organization supported by the individual state guaranty associations which are its members. It serves as a central source of information for the state associations and helps resolve problems created by the insolvency of insurers that are licensed in more than one state. See also guaranty association.

needs analysis
Part of the fact-finding stage in the personal selling process; the process of developing a detailed personal and financial picture of a prospect in order to evaluate his or her insurance needs.

negotiated trusteeship
An agreement resulting from collective bargaining (negotiation between a union and one or more employers) which provides group insurance for the members of the union. Also called a Taft-Hartley Trust.

net amount at risk
The death benefit of a life insurance policy minus the policy's reserve at the end of the policy year.

net asset value
The value or purchase price of a share of stock in a mutual fund.

net benefit premium
Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the portion of the premium that funds the benefit reserve. See net premium.

net cost
(1) In individual insurance, any one of several different figures used to indicate the cost of an insurance policy. (2) In group insurance, premiums less dividends.

net level premium reserve
The amount of liability that an insurance company establishes for a policy. The net level premium reserve is calculated using net level annual premiums.

net payment cost index
See interest-adjusted payment.

net premium
The amount of money needed to provide life insurance benefits for a policy. The net premium is calculated by using only an assumed interest rate and a tabular mortality rate. No loading for expenses is added. The net premium equals a policy's gross premium minus the policy's loading. Under statutory accounting, the net premium funds the benefit reserve. See also gross premium, loading, net benefit premium, tabular interest rate, and tabular mortality rate.

net single premium
The present value of the expected benefits of an insurance policy. The net single premium is the amount of money that would have to be collected at the time a policy is issued to assure that there will be enough money to pay the death benefit of the policy, assuming that interest is earned at the expected rate and that claims occur at the expected rate.

no-evidence limit
In group insurance, the maximum amount for which an insurance company will insure an individual without first securing evidence of insurability. Also known as the guaranteed issue limit.

no-load fund
A mutual fund in which the investor buys shares directly from the fund and no sales commissions are paid.

nonadmitted assets
Those assets that cannot be included on the balance sheet of a life insurance company's Annual Statement.

nonadmitted reinsurer
In the United States, a reinsurer who is not licensed to accept reinsurance in a given jurisdiction. Contrast to admitted reinsurer.

noncancellable and guaranteed renewable policy
An individual health insurance policy that the insurer cannot terminate and for which the premiums cannot be raised. See also cancellable policy, conditionally renewable policy, guaranteed renewable policy, noncancellable policy, and optionally renewable policy.

noncancellable policy
An individual health insurance policy for which the premium cannot be raised by the insurer and which must be renewed by the insurer until the insured reaches a specified age, provided premiums are paid when due. See also cancellable policy, conditionally renewable policy, guaranteed renewable policy, noncancellable and guaranteed renewable policy, and optionally renewable policy.

noncontributory group insurance
A group insurance plan in which the insureds pay no portion of the premium for their insurance. The group policyholder pays the entire premium. If a group plan is noncontributory, the enrollment of group members is automatic; all eligible group members are covered. Contrast to contributory group insurance.

noncontributory plan
A pension or employee-benefit plan in which contributions are made entirely by the plan sponsor. Contrast with contributory plan.

nonduplication of benefits
A method of coordinating medical expense benefit payments between two insurance carriers that allows the secondary carrier to pay the difference, if any, between the amount paid by the primary plan and the amount that would have been payable by the secondary plan had that plan been the primary plan.

nonelective contributions
In the United States, contributions other than matching contributions made by an employer to an employee's Section 401(k) plan (cash or deferred arrangement). The contributions are made using employer funds and not through a reduction of the employee's salary. See also elective contributions and matching contributions.

nonexclusive territory
Under the general agency system, a territory in which more than one general agent may represent the same insurer. Compare to exclusive territory and overlapping territory.

nonforfeiture factors
Special values, similar to annual premiums, that some insurers use to calculate their policies' cash values. Each insurer calculates its own nonforfeiture factor. In the United States, the nonforfeiture factor can never be greater than the adjusted premiums required by the Standard Nonforfeiture Law.

nonforfeiture options
The various ways in which a policyowner may apply the cash value of a life insurance policy if the policy lapses. See also automatic nonforfeiture option, automatic premium loan (APL), cash surrender value option, extended term insurance option, and reduced paid-up insurance option.

nonforfeiture values
The benefits, as printed in a life insurance policy, that the insurer guarantees to the policyowner if the policyowner stops paying premiums. These amounts may be used in a variety of nonforfeiture options.

noninsured pension fund
A pension fund that is not funded by insurance contracts.

nonmedical application
An application for insurance in which the proposed insured is not required to undergo a medical examination. However, a nonmedical application does contain questions that the proposed insured must answer about his or her health. See also nonmedical supplement.

nonmedical supplement
A report that describes the proposed insured's health history. A nonmedical supplement is completed by the agent based on information provided by the proposed insured and can serve as part of a nonmedical application. Also called a nonmedical declaration. See also nonmedical application.

nonparticipating policy
A type of life insurance policy or annuity in which the policyowner does not receive policy dividends. Also called a nonpar policy.

nonqualified annuity
A type of annuity in the United States funded with money that has already been taxed by the federal government in the year in which the funds are deposited.

nonqualified deferred-compensation plan
In the United States, a retirement income plan that does not meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for qualified plans. Although such plans do not receive the tax advantages of qualified plans, they need not satisfy the restrictive plan design requirements that qualified plans must satisfy. Nonqualified plans are often used as a benefit for executives or highly compensated employees.

nonresident license
A license authorizing an agent who resides in another state to sell insurance in the licensing state.

nonretroactive disability benefits
A type of disability benefit that is payable only for the period of disability that follows an elimination period.

nonscheduled dental plan
A dental plan which pays benefits for procedures based on the dentist's actual charges, as long as the charges are usual, customary, and reasonable. See also combination dental plan and scheduled dental plan.

nonsmoker risk class
An underwriting risk class that includes people who are standard risks and who have not smoked cigarettes for a specified period of time, usually 12 months, before applying for insurance. People in the nonsmoker risk class pay lower than standard premiums.

normal cost
The actuarially determined amount needed to fund for one plan year the retirement benefits of a pension plan participant or of a pension plan as a whole. A plan's normal cost is dependent on the actuarial funding method and assumptions used by the plan.

normal retirement age
The earliest age at which a participant in a pension plan can retire and receive the plan's specified benefit in full. Usually age 65. See also early retirement age and late retirement age.

notched option
A method of integrating private pension plans with Canadian public pension plans. Under this option, a participant who retires before age 65 receives a greater benefit from the private plan until age 65 and a smaller benefit after 65, when the participant begins to receive public pension payments. When both the public and private plan benefits are considered, the participant receives the same combined benefit payment before and after age 65. However, this benefit payment is smaller than the payment the participant would have received had he or she waited until reaching age 65 before beginning to receive benefits. The notched benefit is designed so that the sponsor pays the same total benefit as it would have if the amount of the private benefit payments had been constant throughout. Compare to bridging supplement.

numerical rating system
A method of classifying risks in which each medical and nonmedical factor is assigned a numerical value based on its expected impact on mortality. See also credits and debits.

Written by the Insurance Center

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