Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 33 > Article 26 - West Virginia Guaranty Association Act

• Account: means any one of the three accounts created by section six of this article. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Affiliate: means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with another person on December 31 of the year immediately preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Affiliate of the insolvent insurer: means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December 31 of the year prior to the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the West Virginia Insurance Guaranty Association created under section six of this article. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Association similar to the association: means any guaranty association, security fund or other insolvency mechanism that affords protection similar to that of the association. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• 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.
• Claimant: means any insured making a first party claim or any person instituting a liability claim, provided that no person who is an affiliate of the insolvent insurer may be a claimant. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Control: means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• 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 claim: means an unpaid claim, including one for unearned premiums, submitted by a claimant, which arises out of and is within the coverage and is subject to the applicable limits of an insurance policy to which this article applies issued by an insurer, if the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer after the effective date of this article and:

  (i) The claimant or insured is a resident of this state at the time of the insured event: Provided, That for entities other than an individual, the residence of a claimant, insured or policyholder is the state in which its principal place of business is located at the time of the insured event. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5

• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Insolvent insurer: means an insurer licensed to transact insurance in this state, either at the time the policy was issued or when the insured event occurred, and against whom a final order of liquidation has been entered with a finding of insolvency by a court of competent jurisdiction in the insurer&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Member insurer: means any person who: writes any kind of insurance to which this article applies under section three of this article, including farmers&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Net direct written premiums: means direct gross premiums written in this state on insurance policies to which this article applies, less return premiums on the policies and dividends paid or credited to policyholders on such direct business. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• 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.
• Person: means any individual or legal entity, including governmental entities. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Receiver: means receiver, liquidator, rehabilitator or conservator as the context may require. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• Self-insurer: means a person that covers its liability through a qualified individual or group self-insurance program or any other formal program created for the specific purpose of covering liabilities typically covered by insurance. See West Virginia Code 33-26-5
• 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: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.