AM. The best rating is the rating published by A.M. The best company among all life, property and casualty insurers registered in the United States and US affiliates of foreign property insurers groups operating in the United States. Ratings are often used to determine the solvency, suitability, track record, and financial strength of insurance companies. Other rating agencies include Standard & Poor’s, Conning & Company, Fitch and Moody’s.
The contract for the construction of A201 is designed and published by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). This standard document sets out the general terms of a construction contract, including immunity clauses and insurance requirements. While modifications are common, the A201 contract is probably the most widely used of all standard building contracts; therefore, its provisions have risk and insurance implications for many construction projects.
Abandoned property is a clause on property insurance policies that prohibits the insured from leaving damaged property to the insurer for repair or disposal. Arrangement of repair or disposal is the responsibility of the insured, unless the insurer decides otherwise.
The ABC test is a test that is used in several jurisdictions (eg California, Massachusetts, New Jersey) to distinguish employees from independent contractors. The ABC test has three prongs. An employee is only considered to be an independent contractor who is not covered by the wage rules if the hiring organization specifies each of the following conditions. * that the employee is free from the control and direction of the employer in connection with the performance of the work, both in contract for such work and in fact * that the employee performs work that is outside the ordinary course of business of the employing organization * That the employee is usually engaged in an independently established profession, an occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the employing organization The ABC test makes it difficult for companies to correctly classify workers as independent contractors, as they must meet each of the criteria. Thus, jurisdictions that use the ABC test are considered to be favorable to plaintiff lawyers filing claims on behalf of employees.
“Absolute” exclusions are exclusions contained in certain forms of insurance policies that exclude coverage of claims that are remotely but not directly related to the actual nature of the exclusion. The effect of such wording is to waive coverage in situations where coverage could reasonably be expected to apply. For example, an absolute exclusion in a policy written to cover the risk of insurance agent errors and omissions (E&O) could be read as either implicitly arising from or related to any actual or perceived “injury”. Suppose, for example, that an insurance agent fails to provide bodily injury (BI) coverage for a customer and the customer is later held liable for BI. The client then sues the agent for failing to obtain the appropriate insurance policy. Given the wording of the “absolute” exception noted above, the agency policy may not respond to the claim. This is because the client’s assertion indirectly originated and was “linked” to BI. In recent years, these “absolute” exclusions have become more common, and insurers are increasingly using them to deny coverage to claims that would otherwise appear to be covered.
Absolute pollution exclusion is the standard pollution exclusion in Insurance Services Office, Inc. Commercial Liability Insurance (CGL) policies. (ISO) after 1986. This exception gets its name from the removal of the “sudden and random” exception from the standard 1973 CGL pollution exception. While it removes coverage for most pollution incidents that may occur in the course of an insured person’s business operations, coverage remains for some significant impacts, most notably certain incidental pollution losses (including hostile fire), product liability and completed operations, and some cases. - the premises are operated by contractors. Since the exclusion is not really “absolute”, a more appropriate nickname for it is “pollution exclusion in broad form”, and it is used in some IRMI publications.
To accept means to agree to insure. The insurer accepts the risk when the underwriter or agent agrees to insure it and the essential elements of the insurance contract are known and agreed upon by the parties. Even if the policy has not been issued, once the risk is “accepted”, the insurer is obliged to pay the losses that arise in accordance with the agreed terms of coverage.
The access to records clause, also commonly referred to as the “check” or “audit” clause, is one of the most important contractual rights a reinsurer has under a reinsurance agreement. The purpose of this clause is to give the reinsurer the right to inspect the books and records of the cedant applicable to the reinsured business. This is one of the few methods by which reinsurers must assess the business they are contracting under a reinsurance contract and determine whether the reinsurer is complying with the terms of the contract, in particular the accuracy of the policy, assignments and premium calculations. A typical record access offer provides the following. The Reinsurer or its appointed representatives shall have free access to the books and records of the Company on matters relating to this reinsurance at any reasonable time for the purpose of obtaining information relating to this Contract or its subject matter. More recent provisions on access to records are more limited and specific as to the scope, timing and method of verification provided to the reinsurer. Clauses on access to records can be found in most reinsurance contracts. The right of inspection is so ingrained in the customs and practices of the reinsurance industry that it is supported to suggest that the reinsurer has this right even in the absence of an express reservation.