Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 27-34.3 - Rhode Island Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act

• Account: means either of the two accounts created under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• 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.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the Rhode Island life and health insurance guaranty association created under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• authorized: when used in the context of assessments means a resolution by the board of directors has been passed whereby an assessment will be called immediately or in the future from member insurers for a specified amount. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• 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}
• Benefit plan: means a specific employee, union, or association of natural persons benefit plan. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• called: when used in the context of assessments means that a notice has been issued by the association to member insurers requiring that an authorized assessment be paid within the time frame set forth within the notice. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance within the department of business regulation of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• 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.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contract owner: means the person who is identified as the legal owner under the terms of the policy or contract or who is otherwise vested with legal title to the policy or contract through a valid assignment completed in accordance with the terms of the policy or contract and properly recorded as the owner on the books of the insurer. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Contractual obligation: means any obligation under a policy or contract or certificate under a group policy or contract, or portion of a group policy or contract for which coverage is provided under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• 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.
• Covered policy: means any policy or contract or portion of a policy or contract for which coverage is provided under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Impaired insurer: means a member insurer which is not an insolvent insurer, and is placed under an order of rehabilitation or conservation by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Insolvent insurer: means a member insurer which after January 1, 1996, is placed under an order of liquidation by a court of competent jurisdiction with a finding of insolvency. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Member insurer: means any insurer licensed or that holds a certificate of authority to transact in this state any kind of insurance for which coverage is provided under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• 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: means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, governmental body or entity, or voluntary organization. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Plan sponsor: means :

  (i)  The employer in case of a benefit plan established or maintained by a single employer;

  (ii)  The employee organization in the case of a benefit plan established or maintained by an employee organization; or

  (iii)  In the case of a benefit plan established or maintained by two (2) or more employers or jointly by one or more employers and one or more employee organizations, the association, committee, joint board of trustees, or other similar group of representatives of the parties who establish or maintain the benefit plan. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5

• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Premiums: means amounts or considerations (by whatever name called) received on covered policies or contracts less returned premiums, considerations and deposits, and less dividends and experience credits. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Receivership court: means the court in the insolvent or impaired insurer's state having jurisdiction over the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of the insurer. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Resident: means a person to whom a contractual obligation is owed and who resides in this state on the date of entry of a court order that determines a member insurer to be an impaired insurer or a court order that determines a member insured to be an insolvent insurer, whichever occurs first. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: means a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a United States possession, territory, or protectorate. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Structured settlement annuity: means an annuity purchased in order to fund periodic payments for a claimant in payment for or with respect to personal injuries suffered by the claimant. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unallocated annuity contract: means any annuity contract or group annuity certificate which is not issued to and owned by an individual, except to the extent of any annuity benefits guaranteed to an individual by an insurer under the contract or certificate. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.