Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 38.2 > Chapter 20 - Regulation of Rates for Certain Types of Insurance

• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Closing disclosure: means the combined mortgage loan disclosure statement of final loan terms and closing costs prescribed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA)(Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Escrow: means written instruments, money, or other items deposited by a party with a settlement agent for delivery to other persons upon the performance of specified conditions or the happening of a certain event. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Insurer: means an insurance company. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Lender: means any person regularly engaged in making loans secured by mortgages or deeds of trust on real estate. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Party to the real estate transaction: means , with respect to that real estate transaction, a lender, seller, purchaser, or borrower and, with respect to a corporate purchaser, any entity that is a subsidiary of or under common ownership with that corporate purchaser. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds type of organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Pool: means an arrangement, either voluntary or mandated by law, established on an on-going basis, pursuant to which two or more insurers participate in the sharing of risks on a predetermined basis, which arrangement may operate through an association, syndicate, or other pool arrangement. See Virginia Code 38.2-2000.1
• Rate service organization: means any organization or person, other than a joint underwriting association under § Virginia Code 38.2-100
• rates: means any rate of premium, policy fee, membership fee or any other charge made by an insurer for or in connection with a contract or policy of insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act: Federal law that, among other things, requires lenders to provide "good faith" estimates of settlement costs and make other disclosures regarding the mortgage loan. RESPA also limits the amount of funds held in escrow for real estate taxes and insurance. ^{Source: OCC}
• Residual market mechanism: means an arrangement, either voluntary or mandated by law, involving participation by insurers in equitable apportionment among themselves of insurance which may be afforded applicants who are unable to obtain insurance through ordinary methods including any filed and approved plans. See Virginia Code 38.2-2000.1
• Settlement: means the time when the settlement agent has received the duly executed deed, loan funds, loan documents, and other documents and funds required to carry out the terms of the contract between the parties and the settlement agent reasonably determines that prerecordation conditions of such contracts have been satisfied. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Settlement agent: means a person, other than a party to the real estate transaction, that provides escrow, closing, or settlement services in connection with a transaction related to real estate in the Commonwealth and that is listed as the settlement agent on the settlement statement or closing disclosure for such transaction. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Settlement service provider: means any person providing settlement services, as that term is defined under the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Settlement statement: means the statement of receipts and disbursements for a transaction related to real estate, including a statement prescribed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA)(Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• State: means any commonwealth, state, territory, district or insular possession of the United States. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Subscriber: means a person obligated under a reciprocal insurance agreement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Virginia Property Insurance Association: means that organization established pursuant to Chapter 27 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-2000.1