Insurance back-office glossary
The terms we use across this site, in plain English. Each one has its own link, so you can share a definition.
ACORD forms
Standard insurance forms published by ACORD, a non-profit standards body. Agencies use them for certificates, applications and evidence of insurance, so carriers and holders see the same layout from every agency.
ACORD 25
The certificate of liability insurance: the form most often issued as a certificate of insurance, summarizing general liability, auto, umbrella and workers' compensation coverage.
ACORD 101
The additional remarks schedule, attached when the description of operations or other information does not fit on a certificate.
Additional insured
A person or organization, other than the named insured, given coverage under a policy by an endorsement, usually because a contract requires it. A certificate reports additional insured status; it cannot create it.
Agency management system (AMS)
The agency's system of record for customers, policies, documents and activity. Examples include Vertafore AMS360, Applied Epic and HawkSoft.
Back-office
The service work behind an agency's sales and advice: certificates, ID cards, endorsements, billing questions, carrier downloads, filing and follow-up.
Binding
Putting coverage, or a change to coverage, in force. Only the carrier, or an agency with authority from the carrier, can bind.
Certificate holder
The person or organization a certificate of insurance is issued to, such as a general contractor, landlord or lender.
Certificate of insurance (COI)
A document summarizing an insured's coverage for a third party, the certificate holder. It is issued for information only and does not change the policy.
Errors and omissions (E&O)
Professional liability for agencies: claims that the agency made a mistake or failed to do something, such as issuing a wrong certificate or not processing a change.
Endorsement
A change to a policy after it is issued: adding a vehicle, driver, location or additional insured, changing a limit or address.
Evidence of property (EOP)
A document, such as an ACORD 27 or 28, showing property coverage to a lender or landlord, often with them named as mortgagee or loss payee.
Exceptions queue
In Shlix IBS, where requests go when the AI is not confident what they are, or when a customer, policy or requester cannot be matched, so a person decides instead of the software guessing.
Four-eyes approval
A rule that a second person approves work before it is sent, and that the person who prepared it cannot approve it.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
A US federal law that requires financial institutions, including insurance agencies, to protect customers' nonpublic personal information and to oversee service providers that handle it.
Insurance ID card
Proof of auto insurance for a vehicle, carried by the driver and often asked for by dealers and lenders.
Loss run
A carrier's report of claims on a policy over a period, usually requested when a customer shops for a new policy or renews.
Named insured
The person or business named on the policy declarations as the insured.
Policy checking
Comparing a policy document from the carrier with what was quoted and bound, to catch differences before the customer relies on it.
Primary and non-contributory
Policy wording that makes the insured's policy pay first, without sharing the loss with the additional insured's own policy. It must be provided by the policy or an endorsement, not by a certificate.
Suspense
A follow-up date in an AMS: a reminder to check on something that is waiting, such as a carrier's response.
Waiver of subrogation
An agreement that the insurer will not recover its claim payment from a third party, often required by contracts. It comes from the policy or an endorsement.
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