Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 8 > Chapter 128 - Property and Casualty Insurance Rate Regulation

• Account: means a demand deposit or share draft (checking) account, savings account, or other comparable consumer asset account (other than an occasional or incidental credit balance in a credit plan) regularly maintained by the consumer at a financial institution or at a credit union. See
• Advisory or service organization: means any person or organization that assists insurers as authorized by section 4690 of this title, but such an organization shall not include joint underwriting organizations, actuarial or legal consultants, a single insurer, any employees of an insurer, or insurers under common control or management or their employees or managers. See
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• 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}
• Board: means the State Labor Relations Board established under section 921 of this title. See
• Charges: means the amount a consumer owes to a company in addition to the funded amount and includes an administrative fee, origination fee, underwriting fee, processing fee, and any other fee regardless of how the fee is denominated, including amounts denominated as interest or rate. See
• classification: means a plan, system, or arrangement for recognizing differences in exposure to hazard among risks. See
• Collective bargaining service fee: means a fee deducted by an employer from the salary or wages of an employee who is not a member of an employee organization, which is paid to the employee organization that is the exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining unit of the employee. See
• Commercial risk insurance: means insurance within the scope of this chapter that is not:

• company: means a person that provides consumer litigation funding to a consumer. See
• Company: means corporation or limited liability company. See
• Competitive market: means a market that has not been found to be noncompetitive pursuant to section 4684 of this title. See
• Consumer: means a natural person who is seeking or has obtained consumer litigation funding for a pending legal claim, provided:

• contract: means a contract between a company and a consumer for the provision of consumer litigation funding. See
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Employee: means a State employee as defined by subdivision (5) of this section except as the context requires otherwise. See
• Employer: means the State of Vermont, excluding the Legislative and Judiciary Departments, represented by the Governor or designee, the Office of the Defender General represented by the Defender General or designee, Vermont State Colleges represented by the Chancellor or designee, and the University of Vermont represented by the President or designee. See
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Expenses: means that portion of any rate attributable to acquisition, field supervision and collection expenses, general expenses, and taxes, licenses, and fees. See
• Experience rating: means a rating procedure utilizing past insurance experience of the individual policyholder to forecast future losses by measuring the policyholder's loss experience to produce a prospective premium credit, debit, or unity modification. See
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financial institution: means an institution as defined in subdivision 11101(32) of this title. See
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Funded amount: means the amount of monies provided to, or on behalf of, the consumer pursuant to a litigation funding contract. See
• funding: means a nonrecourse transaction in which a company purchases and a consumer assigns to the company a contingent right to receive an amount of the potential net proceeds of a settlement or judgment obtained from the consumer's legal claim. See
• gender identity: means an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual's gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth. See
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• gift certificate: includes a record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic strip, or other means for the storage of information that is prefunded and for which the value is decremented upon each use; a gift card; an electronic gift card; a prepaid access card or certificate; a store card; or a similar record or card. See
• Grievance: means an employee's, group of employees', or the employee's collective bargaining representative's expressed dissatisfaction, presented in writing, with aspects of employment or working conditions under a collective bargaining agreement or the discriminatory application of a rule or regulation, that has not been resolved to a satisfactory result through informal discussion with immediate supervisors. See
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Independent trust company: means a company formed in this or any other state, that is chartered to act as a fiduciary or engages in a trust business, but is neither a depository institution nor a foreign bank as defined in Section 1(b)(7) of the International Banking Act of 1978. See
• Joint underwriting: means a voluntary arrangement established on an ad hoc basis to provide insurance coverage pursuant to which two or more insurers separately contract with the insured at a price and under policy terms agreed upon between the insurers. See
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Loan solicitation: means , for compensation or gain or with the expectation of compensation or gain, to:

• Loss cost: means the actuarially developed portion of the rate needed to cover future losses and claims. See
• Loss trending: means any procedure for projecting developed losses to the average date of loss for the period during which the policies are to be effective. See
• Market: means the statewide interaction between buyers and sellers of a particular line of insurance or product market component. See
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage broker: means any person who for compensation or gain, or in the expectation of compensation or gain, directly or indirectly negotiates, places, assists in placement, or finds, or offers to negotiate, place, assist in placement, or find mortgage loans, other than commercial loans, on real property for others. See
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• Net proceeds: means the amount recovered by a consumer as a result of a legal claim less costs associated with the legal claim or the underlying events giving rise to the legal claim, including:

• Noncompetitive market: means a market for which there is a ruling in effect pursuant to section 4684 of this title that a reasonable degree of competition does not exist. See
• Paid value: means the value of any money or other thing of value given in exchange for a gift certificate. See
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Pool: means a voluntary arrangement other than a residual market mechanism, established on an ongoing basis, pursuant to which two or more insurers participate in the sharing of risks on a predetermined basis. See
• Probate: Proving a will
• Pure premium rate: means that portion of the rate that represents the loss cost per unit of exposure or loss cost per unit of insurance. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Rate: means the cost of insurance per exposure base unit, or cost per unit of insurance, prior to the application of individual risk variations based upon loss or expense considerations, and does not include minimum premiums. See
• real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate. See
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Representatives: includes any individual or individuals certified by the Board to represent employees or employee organizations in collective bargaining or grievance proceedings. See
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Residential mortgage loan application: means a request, in any form, for an offer, or a response to a solicitation of an offer, of residential mortgage loan terms, and information about the borrower or prospective borrower that is customary or necessary in a decision on whether to make such an offer. See
• Residual market mechanism: means an arrangement, either voluntary or mandated by law or regulation of the Commissioner, involving participation by insurers in the equitable apportionment among them of insurance that may be afforded applicants who are unable to obtain insurance through ordinary methods. See
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• said: when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned. See
• Sales finance company: means any person who has purchased one or more retail installment contracts, as defined in 9 V. See
• seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
• sexual orientation: means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. See
• Statistical plan: means a plan, system, or arrangement used in collecting insurance or related data. See
• Supplementary rate information: includes any manual, schedule, or plan of rates, classification system, rating schedule, minimum premium, policy fee, rating rule, rating plan, or any other similar information needed or used to determine the applicable premium in effect or to be in effect for an insured. See
• Supporting information: means :

• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trust business: means the holding out by a person to the public by advertising, solicitation or other means that the person is available to act as a fiduciary in this or another state for hire or compensation. See
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.