Finite Risk Insurance - Important Terms

Important Terms

"Additional premium provision" means, in the context of finite risk insurance, a provision of an insurance or reinsurance contract that requires or strongly encourages the insured to pay the insurer some calculable amount as a result of losses paid or incurred under that insurance or reinsurance contract, excluding provisions for additional premium due to changes in exposure or policy audit.

"Commutation provision" means a verbal or written agreement, whether or not formally incorporated into an insurance or reinsurance policy, that allows the policyholder to commute the policy, usually implying that all liabilities and rights created by that contract are extinguished in return for the balance of an experience account. Generally provisions such as "profit sharing" or "low claims bonus," which also produce a return of premium that can be reduced by claims payments, are not considered Commutation Provisions if they do not extinguish the contract. Loss-based return and additional premium provisions in conventional loss-based rating plans, e.g., incurred loss retrospectively rated insurance and so-called "retention plans" used commonly in insuring US Workers' Compensation, are generally not considered Commutation Provisions for much the same reason.

Sample language for such a provision might resemble this: