Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 8 > Chapter 201 - Supervision; Definitions

• Admitted insurer: means an insurer licensed to transact business in this State. See
• Adopting authority: means , for agencies that are attached to the Agencies of Administration, of Commerce and Community Development, of Natural Resources, of Human Services, and of Transportation, or any of their components, the secretaries of those agencies; for agencies attached to other departments or any of their components, the commissioners of those departments; and for other agencies, the chief officer of the agency. See
• Agency: means a State board, commission, department, agency, or other entity or officer of State government, other than the Legislature, the courts, the Commander in Chief, and the Military Department, authorized by law to make rules or to determine contested cases. See
• Agency captive insurance company: means a captive insurance company that is owned or directly or indirectly controlled by one or more insurance agencies or brokerages licensed under the laws of any state and that only insures risks of policies that are placed by or through such agency or agencies, or brokerage or brokerages, as applicable. See
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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.
• Annuity: shall mean annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member. See
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Arbitrary: when applied to an agency rule or action, means that one or more of the following apply:

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means a joint underwriting association established pursuant to this chapter. See
• Association: means any legal association of individuals, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, associations, or other entities, the member organizations of which or which does itself, whether or not in conjunction with some or all of the member organizations:

• Association captive insurance company: means any company that insures risks of the member organizations of the association and that also may insure the risks of affiliated companies of the member organizations and the risks of the association itself. See
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Average final compensation: shall mean :

• 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}
• Beneficiary: shall mean any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit as provided by this subchapter. See
• Board: means the State Labor Relations Board established under section 921 of this title. See
• Board: shall mean the board provided for in section 471 of this title to administer the Retirement System. See
• Business entity: means a corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other legal entity. See
• Captive insurance company: means any pure captive insurance company, association captive insurance company, sponsored captive insurance company, industrial insured captive insurance company, agency captive insurance company, risk retention group, affiliated reinsurance company, or special purpose financial insurance company formed or licensed under the provisions of this chapter. See
• Commission: shall mean the Vermont Pension Investment Commission. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation or a designee. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. See
• 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.
• Complaint: means an employee's, or group of employees', informal expression to the immediate supervisor of dissatisfaction with aspects of employment or working conditions under a collective bargaining agreement. See
• Contested case: means a proceeding, including but not restricted to rate-making and licensing, in which the legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined by an agency after an opportunity for hearing. See
• Controlled insurer: means a licensed insurer that is controlled, directly or indirectly, by a producer. See
• Controlled unaffiliated business: means any person:

• Controlling producer: means a producer who, directly or indirectly, controls an insurer. See
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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 accident and health insurance: means insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or other credit transaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the policy. See
• Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Credit life insurance: means insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction. See
• Creditable service: shall mean service for which credit is allowed under section 458 of this title, plus service transferred under section 495 of this title. See
• Creditor: means the lender of money or vendor or lessor of goods, services, property, right, or privileges, for which payment is arranged through a credit transaction or any successor to the right, title, or interest of any such lender, vendor, or lessor, and an affiliate, associate, or subsidiary of any of them or any director, officer, or employee of any of them or any other person in any way associated with any of them. See
• debt adjustment: means making an agreement with a debtor whereby the debt adjuster agrees to distribute, supervise, coordinate, negotiate, or control the distribution of money or evidences thereof among one or more of the debtor's creditors in full or partial payment of obligations of the debtor and includes services as an intermediary between a debtor and one or more of the debtor's creditors for the purpose of obtaining concessions. See
• Debtor: means a borrower of money or a purchaser or lessee of goods, services, property, rights, or privileges for which payment is arranged through a credit transaction. See
• Department: shall mean any department, institution, or agency of this State government. See
• Department head: means a secretary of an agency, commissioner of a department, director of an office, or any other appointing authority in charge of an agency of State government. See
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Domestic: when applied to a corporation, company, association, or copartnership shall mean organized under the laws of this State; "foreign" when so applied, shall mean organized under the laws of another state, government, or country. See
• Domestic insurer: means any insurer that has been chartered by, incorporated, organized, or constituted within or under the laws of this State. See
• Domestic risk: means a subject of insurance that is resident, located, or to be performed in this State. See
• Domestic surplus lines insurer: means a domestic insurer with which insurance coverage may be placed under this chapter. See
• Employee: means a State employee as defined by subdivision (5) of this section except as the context requires otherwise. See
• Employee: includes deputy State's Attorneys, victim advocates employed by a State's Attorney pursuant to 13 V. See
• Employee: shall mean any regular officer or employee who is employed for not less than 40 calendar weeks in a year, other than a person engaged under retainer or special agreement. See
• Employee organization: means an organization of any kind in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose of representing its members, if certified by the Board as an exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining. See
• Employer: shall mean any political subdivision of the State of Vermont and the Vermont National Guard as to employees thereof hired under 32 U. See
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Governing board: shall mean the governing body, by whatever name known, of such employer. See
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grievance: means an employee's, group of employees', or the employee's collective bargaining representative's expressed dissatisfaction, presented in writing, with aspects of employment or working conditions under a collective bargaining agreement or the discriminatory application of a rule or regulation, that has not been resolved to a satisfactory result through informal discussion with immediate supervisors. See
• Group A members: means employees classified under subdivision (A) of subdivision (9) of this subsection (a). See
• Group F member: means any person who is first included in the membership of the System on or after January 1, 1991, any person who was a Group E member on December 31, 1990, who was in service on that date, and any person who was a Group E member on December 31, 1990, who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after January 1, 1991. See
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guidance document: means a written record that has not been adopted in accordance with sections 836-844 of this title and that is issued by an agency to assist the public by providing an agency's current approach to or interpretation of law or describing how and when an agency will exercise discretionary functions. See
• Home state: means , with respect to an insured:

• Home state: means the District of Columbia and any state or territory of the United States in which an insurance producer maintains his or her principal place of residence or principal place of business and is licensed to act as an insurance producer. See
• Illegal order: means a directive to violate, or to assist in violating, a federal, State, or local law. See
• Incorporation by reference: means the use of language in the text of a regulation that expressly refers to a document other than the regulation itself. See
• Indebtedness: means the total amount payable by a debtor to a creditor in connection with a loan or other transaction. See
• Index: means a searchable list of entries that contains subjects and titles with page numbers, hyperlinks, or other connections that link each entry to the text or document to which it refers. See
• Industrial insured: means an insured:

• Industrial insured captive insurance company: means any company that insures risks of the industrial insureds that comprise the industrial insured group, and that may insure the risks of the affiliated companies of the industrial insureds and the risks of the controlled unaffiliated business of an industrial insured or its affiliated companies. See
• Industrial insured group: means any group of industrial insureds that collectively:

• Insurance producer: means a person required to be licensed under the laws of this State to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance. See
• Insurer: means any person engaged in the business of insurance in this State. See
• insurer: means any person, firm, association, or corporation duly licensed to transact an insurance business in this State. See
• 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}
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• License: includes the whole or part of any agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or similar form of permission required by law. See
• License: means a document issued by the Commissioner authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. See
• Licensing: includes the agency process respecting the grant, denial, renewal, revocation, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, or amendment of a license. See
• Limited lines insurance: means travel accident or travel baggage insurance, or any other line of insurance that the Commissioner deems necessary to recognize for the purposes of complying with subsection 4813h(d) of this subchapter, or any other line of insurance the Commissioner, by regulation, shall deem essential for the transaction of business in this State and that does not require the professional competency demanded for an insurance producer's license. See
• Limited lines producer: means a person authorized by the Commissioner to sell, solicit, or negotiate limited lines insurance as defined in subchapter 1A of this chapter. See
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan: means a residential mortgage loan. See
• Local retirement fund: shall mean any retirement, pension, or benefit fund partially or wholly maintained at the expense of an employer. See
• Managing general agent: means any person who:

• Member: means an insurer that is a member of an association. See
• Member: means any employee included in the membership of the Retirement System under section 457 of this title. See
• Member organization: means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, or other entity that belongs to an association. See
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Mutual corporation: means a corporation organized without stockholders and includes a nonprofit corporation with members. See
• NAIC: means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. See
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Guard employees: shall mean employees of the Vermont National Guard hired under 32 U. See
• Negotiate: means the act of conferring directly with or offering advice directly to a purchaser or prospective purchaser of a particular contract of insurance concerning any of the substantive benefits, terms, or conditions of the contract, provided the person engaged in that act either sells insurance or obtains insurance from insurers for purchasers. See
• 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.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, other entity, or individual, that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds with power to vote more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting:

• 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.
• Party: means each person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party. See
• Pension: shall mean annual payments for life derived from contributions by the State. See
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency. See
• Person: includes one or more individuals, the State of Vermont, Vermont State Colleges, University of Vermont, Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, employee organizations, labor organizations, partnerships, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, or any other natural or legal entity whatsoever. See
• Person: means an individual or a business entity. See
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Petit jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means the plan of operation of the association approved or proposed by the Commissioner pursuant to this chapter. See
• Practice: means a substantive or procedural requirement of an agency, affecting one or more persons who are not employees of the agency, that is used by the agency in the discharge of its powers and duties. See
• 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.
• Procedure: means a practice that has been adopted in writing, either at the election of the agency or as the result of a request under subsection 831(b) of this title. See
• Producer: means an agent, broker, or reinsurance intermediary licensed pursuant to subchapter 1 of this chapter. See
• Public body: means :

• Pure captive insurance company: means any company that insures risks of its parent and affiliated companies or controlled unaffiliated business. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate. See
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Regular interest: shall mean interest at such rate or rates as may be set from time to time by the Retirement Board in accordance with subsection 472(b) of this title. See
• Reinsurance intermediary: means a reinsurance intermediary-broker or a reinsurance intermediary-manager as defined in subdivisions (10) and (11) of this section. See
• Reinsurance intermediary-broker: means any person, other than an officer or employee of the ceding insurer, who solicits, negotiates, or places reinsurance cessions or retrocessions on behalf of a ceding insurer without the authority or power to bind reinsurance on behalf of such insurer. See
• Reinsurance intermediary-manager: means any person who has authority to bind or manages all or part of the assumed reinsurance business of a reinsurer, including the management of a separate division, department, or underwriting office, and acts as an agent for such reinsurer whether known as a reinsurance intermediary-manager, manager, or other similar term. See
• Reinsurer: means any person, firm, association, or corporation duly licensed in this State pursuant to the applicable provisions of the insurance law as an insurer with the authority to assume reinsurance. See
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retaliatory action: includes any adverse performance or disciplinary action, including discharge, suspension, reprimand, demotion, denial of promotion, imposition of a performance warning period, or involuntary transfer or reassignment that is given in retaliation for the State employee's involvement in a protected activity, as set forth in section 973 of this title. See
• Retirement Board: shall mean the Retirement Board of the State Retirement System. See
• Retirement System: shall mean the Vermont State Retirement System as defined in section 456 of this title. See
• Risk retention group: means a captive insurance company organized under the laws of this State pursuant to the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, 15 U. See
• Rule: means each agency statement of general applicability that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy and that has been adopted in the manner provided by sections 836-844 of this title. See
• said: when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned. See
• Sell: means to exchange a contract of insurance by any means, for money or its equivalent, on behalf of an insurer. See
• Service: shall mean service as an employee for which compensation is paid by the State. See
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Servicing: means receiving a scheduled periodic payment from a borrower pursuant to the terms of a loan, including amounts for escrow accounts, and making the payments to the owner of the loan or other third party of principal and interest and other payments with respect to the amounts received from the borrower as may be required pursuant to the terms of the servicing loan document or servicing contract. See
• Small business: means a business employing no more than 20 full-time employees. See
• Solicit: means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular insurer. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• State employee: means an individual employed on a permanent or limited status basis by the State of Vermont. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Surplus lines broker: means an individual licensed under this chapter and chapter 131 of this title. See
• Surplus lines insurance: means coverage not procurable from admitted insurers. See
• Surplus lines insurance broker: means an individual who solicits, negotiates, or procures a policy of insurance in an insurance company not licensed to transact business in this State that cannot be procured from insurers licensed to do business in this State. See
• Surplus lines insurer: means a non-admitted insurer with which insurance coverage may be placed under this chapter. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Underwrite: means the authority to accept or reject risk on behalf of the insurer. See
• Uniform Application: means the current version of the NAIC Uniform Application for resident and nonresident producer licensing. See
• Uniform Business Entity Application: means the current version of the NAIC Uniform Business Entity Application for resident and nonresident business entities. See