Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 508C - Iowa Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association

• Account: means any of the four accounts created under section 508C. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Advertisement: means the attempt by dissemination, solicitation, or circulation to directly or indirectly induce any person to enter into any obligation or acquire any title or interest in land offered for sale or lease to the public in this state. See Iowa Code 543C.1
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the Iowa life and health insurance guaranty association created in section 508C. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• authorized: when used in the context of an assessment, means that a resolution has been passed by the board of directors of the association whereby an assessment will be called immediately or in the future from member insurers for a specified amount. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefit plan: means a specific employee, union, or association of natural persons benefit plan. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Board: means the engineering and land surveying examining board provided by this chapter. See Iowa Code 542B.2
• called: when used in the context of an assessment, means that a notice has been issued by the association to member insurers requiring that an authorized assessment be paid within the time frame set forth within the notice. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: means the same as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 554E.1
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contract owner: means the person who is identified as the legal owner of a policy or contract under the terms of the policy or contract or who is otherwise vested with legal title to the policy or contract through a valid assignment completed in accordance with the terms of the policy or contract and properly recorded as the owner on the books of the member insurer. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Contractual obligation: means an obligation under a covered policy or contract or a certificate under a group policy or contract, or a portion thereof for which coverage is provided under section 508C. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• covered contract: means a policy or contract, or a portion of a policy or contract, for which coverage is provided under section 508C. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Extra-contractual claim: means , without limitation, a claim relating to bad faith in the payment of claims, punitive or exemplary damages, or attorney fees and costs. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Impaired insurer: means a member insurer which is not an insolvent insurer and is placed under an order of rehabilitation or conservation by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Insolvent insurer: means a member insurer which is placed under an order of liquidation with a finding of insolvency by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Insurer: means a person duly licensed in this state as an insurance company pursuant to this subtitle. See Iowa Code 510.1B
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• managed care organization: means an entity that is under contract with the Iowa department of human services to provide services to Medicaid recipients and that also meets the definition of "health maintenance organization" in section 514B. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Member insurer: means an insurer or health maintenance organization which is licensed or which holds a certificate of authority to transact in this state any kind of insurance or health maintenance business for which coverage is provided under section 508C. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Money: means the same as defined in section 554. See Iowa Code 554E.1
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" and the abbreviation "A. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan sponsor: means any of the following:
   a. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Premium: means amounts or consideration, by whatever name called, received on covered policies or contracts less returned premiums, considerations, and deposits and less dividends and experience credits. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Receivership court: means a court in an insolvent or impaired insurer's state having jurisdiction over the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of the insolvent or impaired insurer. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Record: means the same as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 554E.1
• Resident: means a person to whom a contractual obligation is owed and who resides in a state on the date of entry of a court order that determines a member insurer is an impaired insurer or a court order that determines a member insurer is an insolvent insurer. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: means a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a United States possession, territory, or protectorate. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Structured settlement annuity: means an annuity purchased in order to fund periodic payments for a plaintiff or other claimant in payment for or with respect to personal injuries suffered by the plaintiff or other claimant. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• Transaction: means a sale, trade, exchange, transfer, payment, or conversion of a digital asset or any other property or any other action or set of actions occurring between two or more persons relating to the conduct of business, commercial, or governmental affairs. See Iowa Code 554E.1
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unallocated annuity contract: means a guaranteed investment contract, deposit administration contract, or any other annuity contract which is not issued to and owned by an individual, except to the extent of any annuity benefits guaranteed to an individual by an insurer under such a contract or certificate. See Iowa Code 508C.5
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1