Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 20 > Chapter 11 > Article 1 - General Provisions

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Adverse underwriting decision: means any of the following actions involving insurance coverage which is individually underwritten:

  (a) A declination of insurance coverage. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• 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.
• Applicant: means any person who seeks to contract for insurance coverage other than a person seeking group insurance that is not individually underwritten. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• 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.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Consumer report: means any written, oral or other communication of information that bears on a natural person's creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living and that is used or expected to be used in connection with an insurance transaction. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Consumer reporting agency: means any person who does any of the following:

  (a) Regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or preparing consumer reports for a monetary fee. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Declination of insurance coverage: means a denial, in whole or in part, by an insurance institution or insurance producer of requested insurance coverage. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• department: means the department of insurance and financial institutions. See Arizona Laws 20-101
• 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}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Individual: means any natural person who:

  (a) In the case of property or casualty insurance, is a past, present or proposed named insured or certificate holder. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Institutional source: means any person or governmental entity that provides information about an individual to an insurance producer, insurance institution or insurance support organization, other than an insurance producer, the individual who is the subject of the information or a natural person acting in a personal capacity rather than in a business or professional capacity. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Insurance institution: means any corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal insurer, inter-insurer, Lloyd's association, fraternal benefit society or other person engaged in the business of insurance, including health care service organizations and hospital, medical, dental and optometric service corporations as defined in this title. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Insurance producer: means an insurance producer as defined in section 20-281. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Insurance score: means , for the purpose of insurance underwriting or rating, a designation that is derived by using a variety of data sources, including an individual's consumer report in an algorithm, computer program, model or other process that reduces the data to a number, alpha character or rating that is used for insurance underwriting and rating decisions. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Insurance support organization: means :

  (a) Any person who regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or collecting information about natural persons for the primary purpose of providing the information to an insurance institution or insurance producer for insurance transactions, including the furnishing of consumer reports or investigative consumer reports to an insurance institution or insurance producer for use in connection with an insurance transaction or the collection of personal information from insurance institutions, insurance producers or other insurance support organizations for the purpose of detecting or preventing fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure in connection with insurance underwriting or insurance claim activity. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Insurance transaction: means any transaction that involves insurance primarily for personal, family or household needs rather than business or professional needs and that entails the determination of an individual's eligibility for an insurance coverage, benefit or payment or the servicing of an insurance application, policy, contract or certificate, including transfers of business. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Investigative consumer report: means a consumer report or portion of a consumer report in which information about a natural person's character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living is obtained through personal interviews with the person's neighbors, friends, associates, acquaintances or others who may have knowledge concerning those items of information. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Medical care institution: means any facility or institution that is licensed to provide health care services to natural persons including:

  (a) Health care service organizations. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Medical professional: means any person licensed or certified to provide health care services to natural persons, including a chiropractor, clinical dietitian, clinical psychologist, dentist, nurse, occupational therapist, optometrist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, podiatrist, psychiatric social worker or speech therapist. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Medical record information: means personal information that relates to an individual's physical or mental condition, medical history or medical treatment and that is obtained from a medical professional or medical care institution, the individual or the individual's spouse, parent or legal guardian. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Personal information: means any individually identifiable information gathered in connection with an insurance transaction and from which judgments can be made about an individual's character, habits, avocations, finances, occupation, general reputation, credit, health or any other personal characteristics. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Policyholder: means any person who:

  (a) In the case of individual property or casualty insurance, is a present named insured. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Pretext interview: means an interview in which a person, in an attempt to obtain information about a natural person, performs one or more of the following acts:

  (a) Pretends to be someone he or she is not. See Arizona Laws 20-2102

• Privileged information: means any individually identifiable information that relates to a claim for insurance benefits or a civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual and that is collected in connection with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim for insurance benefits or a civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual, except that information otherwise meeting the requirements of this paragraph is considered personal information under this chapter if it is disclosed in violation of section 20-2113. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Registered mail: includes certified mail. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Residual market mechanism: means an agreement for the equitable apportionment among insurers of insurance afforded applicants who are in good faith entitled to but who are unable to procure insurance through ordinary methods. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• sent: means to deliver by United States mail, personal delivery or fax or by electronic means consistent with the requirements of section 20-239. See Arizona Laws 20-117
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unauthorized insurer: means an insurance institution that has not been granted a certificate of authority by the director to transact insurance in this state. See Arizona Laws 20-2102
• under common control with: 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 Arizona Laws 20-2102
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215