Hard Market - in the insurance industry, an upturn in the market cycle, with premiums rising and capacity for most types of insurance declining. May be caused by a number of factors, including a decrease in the return on investment for insurers, an increase in the frequency or severity of losses, and regulatory...

Homeowners Policy is a packaged property and liability insurance policy tailored to the needs of most homeowners, condominium owners and apartment renters. Different versions are available depending on the type of insured home and coverage. This is the most commonly used home protection insurance policy in the United...

Jettison is an intentionally throwing overboard a part of the cargo or any part of the ship in order to save the ship or its cargo. Virtually all maritime policies cover the peril of jettison (the risk of overboarding).

Joint Annuity - an annuity given to two or more persons, for which annuity payments cease upon the death of one of the annuity recipients.

Jury Waiver Provision is a contractual clause whereby one or both parties agree to waive the right to a jury trial, replacing it with litigation as the standard process for resolving contractual disputes. Jury waiver clauses are often included in contracts because jury trials can be time-consuming and costly. In...

Known Loss Provision is a wording commonly included in a liability policy insurance contract that provides that the policy does not apply to losses of which the insured was aware prior to the policy period. In some policies, this restriction appears in the exclusions section of the policy. Some policies go even...

Last Injurious Exposure is a trigger used to determine which employer and workers’ compensation insurer is responsible for an occupational disease that a worker develops. In order for an injury to be covered, the last date the employee was last exposed to the situation that caused the illness must be determined to be...

Negligent Retention is a type of employment-related claim in which the plaintiff alleges that the employer did not fire an employee that management knew or should have known about being violent, sexually harassing, or dishonest. For example, negligent retention lawsuits are often brought after an employee commits a...

Open Perils refers to property insurance that insures against loss of insured property for all reasons other than those specifically excluded. This method of determining covered causes of loss in a property policy is traditionally referred to as “all risks” coverage. Many practitioners continue to use the term “all...

Owners Protective Errors and Omissions Insurance Coverage is a policy that provides coverage for the liability of a construction project owner for design negligence. These forms are written to be used as redundant coverage over a few basic policies that insure the various design professionals working on a given project...