Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 55.1 > Subtitle II - Real Estate Settlements and Recordation

• Accident and sickness insurance: means insurance against loss resulting from sickness, or from bodily injury or death by accident or accidental means, or from a combination of any or all of these perils. See Virginia Code 38.2-109
• Adjusted crime index: means the potential crime rate for a locality multiplied by the base year population of the locality as estimated by the Center for Public Service. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agency: means any agency, authority, board, department, division, commission, institution, bureau, or like governmental entity of the Commonwealth or of any unit of local government including counties, cities, towns, regional governments, and the departments thereof, and includes constitutional officers, except as otherwise expressly provided by law. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• Aggregator site: means a website that provides access to information, including product and insurer information, regarding insurance products from more than one insurer for use in comparison shopping. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Alarm respondent: means an individual who responds to the signal of an alarm for the purpose of detecting an intrusion of the home, business or property of the end user. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• 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.
• Annuities: means all agreements to make periodic payments in specified or calculable sums pursuant to the terms of a contract for a stated period of time or for the life of the person or persons specified in the contract. See Virginia Code 38.2-106
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Armed: means a private security registrant who carries or has immediate access to a firearm in the performance of his duties. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Armed security officer: means a natural person employed to (i) safeguard and protect persons and property or (ii) deter theft, loss, or concealment of any tangible or intangible personal property on the premises he is contracted to protect, and who carries or has access to a firearm in the performance of his duties. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Armored car personnel: means persons who transport or offer to transport under armed security from one place to another, money, negotiable instruments or other valuables in a specially equipped motor vehicle with a high degree of security and certainty of delivery. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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
• 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.
• Authority: means the Virginia Resources Authority created in Chapter 21 of Title 62. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Authority: means the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-2201
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• 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.
• Base year: means the most recent fiscal year for which comparable data are available for: (i) population estimates by the Center for Public Service or the United States Bureau of the Census, adjusted for annexation as determined by the Department, (ii) actual state expenditures for salaries and expenses of sheriffs as reported by the Compensation Board, (iii) number of persons eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families as defined in § Virginia Code 9.1-165
• 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}
• Blanket travel insurance: means a policy of travel insurance issued to any eligible group providing coverage for specific classes of persons defined in the policy with coverage provided to all members of the eligible group without a separate charge to individual members of the eligible group. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Board: means the Criminal Justice Services Board. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Board: means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Resources Authority. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Board: means the board of directors of the Authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-2201
• Board of supervisors: means the governing body of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Bonds: means any bonds, refunding bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, or any bond, grant, revenue anticipation notes or any other evidences of indebtedness or obligation of an authority, whether in temporary or definitive form and whether the interest thereon is exempt from federal income taxation. See Virginia Code 2.2-2200
• Bureau of Insurance: means the division of the Commission established to administer the insurance laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Business entity: means a partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other legal entity other than a sole proprietorship. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• business of insurance: include solicitation, negotiations preliminary to execution, execution of an insurance contract, and the transaction of matters subsequent to execution of the contract and arising out of it. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Cancellation fee waiver: means a contractual agreement between a supplier of travel services and its customer to waive some or all of the nonrefundable cancellation fee provisions of the supplier's underlying travel contract with or without regard to the reason for the cancellation or form of reimbursement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Central station dispatcher: means an individual who monitors burglar alarm signal devices, burglar alarms or any other electrical, mechanical or electronic device used (i) to prevent or detect burglary, theft, shoplifting, pilferage or similar losses; (ii) to prevent or detect intrusion; or (iii) primarily to summon aid for other emergencies. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Certification: means the method of regulation indicating that qualified persons have met the minimum requirements as private security services training schools, private security services instructors, compliance agents, or certified detector canine handler examiners. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• classification: means the plan, system, or arrangement for grouping risks with similar characteristics or a specified class of risk by recognizing differences in exposure to hazards. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• 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
• Collegial body: means a governmental entity whose power or authority is vested within its membership. See Virginia Code 1-209
• Commercial real estate: means any real estate other than (i) real estate containing one to four residential units or (ii) real estate classified for assessment purposes under the provisions of Article 4 (§ Virginia Code 55.1-1100
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Commissioner of Insurance: means the administrative or executive officer of the Bureau. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• 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.
• Company: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, 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
• Compliance agent: means an individual who owns or is employed by a licensed private security services business to ensure the compliance of the private security services business with this title. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Computer or digital forensic services: means the use of highly specialized expertise for the recovery, authentication, and analysis of electronic data or computer usage. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Council: means the governing body of a city or town. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Courier: means any armed person who transports or offers to transport from one place to another documents or other papers, negotiable or nonnegotiable instruments, or other small items of value that require expeditious services. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Courts of record: means the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the circuit courts. See Virginia Code 1-212
• Criminal history record information: means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies on adult individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Criminal justice agency: includes any program certified by the Commission on VASAP pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Criminal justice information system: means a system including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal history record information. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Dam owner: means the owner of the land on which a dam is situated, the holder of an easement permitting the construction of a dam and any person or entity agreeing to maintain a dam. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Criminal Justice Services. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Department: means the Department of Conservation and Recreation. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Detector canine: means any dog that detects drugs or explosives. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Detector canine handler: means any individual who uses a detector canine in the performance of private security duties. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Disbursement of loan funds: means the delivery of the loan funds by the lender to the settlement agent in one or more of the following forms:

  1. See Virginia Code 55.1-900

• Disbursement of settlement proceeds: means the payment of all proceeds of the transaction by the settlement agent to the persons entitled to such proceeds. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dissemination: means any transfer of information, whether orally, in writing, or by electronic means. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Distribution formula: means that linear equation derived biennially by the Department, using standard statistical procedures, which best predicts average crime rates in all cities and eligible counties in the Commonwealth on the basis of the following factors in their simplest form:

  1. See Virginia Code 9.1-165

• DLP: means an employee, officer, director, manager, member, or partner of a limited lines travel insurance agent who (i) is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent, a personal lines insurance agent, or an individual limited lines property and casualty insurance agent and (ii) has been designated by the limited lines travel insurance agent as the person responsible for the limited lines travel insurance agent's compliance with the travel insurance laws, rules, and regulations of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic security business: means any person who engages in the business of or undertakes to (i) install, service, maintain, design or consult in the design of any electronic security equipment to an end user; (ii) respond to or cause a response to electronic security equipment for an end user; or (iii) have access to confidential information concerning the design, extent, status, password, contact list, or location of an end user's electronic security equipment. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Electronic security employee: means an individual who is employed by an electronic security business in any capacity which may give him access to information concerning the design, extent, status, password, contact list, or location of an end user's electronic security equipment. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Electronic security equipment: means (i) electronic or mechanical alarm signaling devices including burglar alarms or holdup alarms used to safeguard and protect persons and property; or (ii) cameras used to detect intrusions, concealment or theft, to safeguard and protect persons and property. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Electronic security sales representative: means an individual who sells electronic security equipment on behalf of an electronic security business to the end user. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Electronic security technician: means an individual who installs, services, maintains or repairs electronic security equipment. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Eligible county: means any county which operates a police department. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Eligible group: means two or more persons who are engaged in a common enterprise or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or relationship, including:

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887

• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Employed: means to be in an employer/employee relationship where the employee is providing work in exchange for compensation and the employer directly controls the employee's conduct and pays some taxes on behalf of the employee. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• End user: means any person who purchases or leases electronic security equipment for use in that person's home or business. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• 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
• Experience rating: means a statistical procedure utilizing past risk experience to produce a prospective premium credit, debit, or unity modification. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
• Federal agency: means the United States; the President of the United States; and any department, corporation, agency, or instrumentality heretofore or hereafter created, designated, or established by the United States. See Virginia Code 2.2-2200
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Flood prevention or protection: means the construction of dams, levees, flood walls, channel improvements or diversions, local flood proofing, evacuation of flood-prone areas or land use controls which reduce or mitigate damage from flooding. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Flood prevention or protection studies: means hydraulic and hydrologic studies of flood plains with historic and predicted floods, the assessment of flood risk and the development of strategies to prevent or mitigate damage from flooding. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• 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.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fulfillment materials: means documentation sent to the purchaser of a travel protection plan confirming the purchase and providing the travel protection plan's coverage and assistance details. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• General public: means individuals who have access to areas open to all and not restricted to any particular class of the community. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Information system: means the total components and operations of a record-keeping process, including information collected or managed by means of computer networks and the Internet, whether automated or manual, containing personal information and the name, personal number, or other identifying particulars of a data subject. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• inhabitants: means with reference to any county, city, town, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any combination thereof, the natural persons in such county, city, town, political subdivision or combination as shown by the unadjusted United States decennial census last preceding the time at which any provision dependent upon population is being applied or the time as of which it is being construed. See Virginia Code 1-235
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inspector: means a state inspector who is employed and authorized to test, certify, and seal weights and measures. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Insurance company: means any company engaged in the business of making contracts of insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• insurance policies: shall include contracts of fidelity, indemnity, guaranty and suretyship. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Insurer: means an insurance company. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• 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}
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• 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.
• Key cutting: means making duplicate keys from an existing key and includes no other locksmith services. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Law-enforcement officer: means any full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office which is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or any full-time or part-time employee of a private police department, and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of the Commonwealth, and shall include any (i) special agent of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; (ii) police agent appointed under the provisions of § 56-353; (iii) officer of the Virginia Marine Police; (iv) conservation police officer who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Wildlife Resources; (v) investigator who is a sworn member of the security division of the Virginia Lottery; (vi) conservation officer of the Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioned pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Lay real estate settlement agent: means a person who (i) is not licensed as an attorney under Chapter 39 of Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensing authority: means the (i) Commission acting pursuant to this chapter, Virginia Code 55.1-1000
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Life insurance: includes policies that also provide (i) endowment benefits; (ii) additional benefits incidental to a loss in the event of death, dismemberment, or loss by accident or accidental means; (iii) additional benefits to safeguard the contract from lapse or to provide a special surrender value, a special benefit or an annuity, in the event of total and permanent disability of the insured; and (iv) optional modes of settlement of proceeds. See Virginia Code 38.2-102
• Limited lines travel insurance agent: means a licensed property and casualty insurance agent, a personal lines insurance agent, or a limited lines property and casualty agent. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan closing: means the time agreed upon by the borrower and lender, when the execution of the loan documents by the borrower occurs. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Loan documents: means the note evidencing the debt due the lender, the deed of trust, or the mortgage securing the debt due the lender and any other documents required by the lender to be executed by the borrower as a part of the transaction. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• Loan funds: means the gross or net proceeds of the loan to be disbursed by the lender at loan closing. See Virginia Code 55.1-900
• local government: shall be construed to mean a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Local government: means any county, city, town, municipal corporation, authority, district, commission, or political subdivision created by the General Assembly or pursuant to the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth, or any combination of any two or more of the foregoing. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Locksmith: means any individual that performs locksmith services, or advertises or represents to the general public that the individual is a locksmith even if the specific term locksmith is substituted with any other term by which a reasonable person could construe that the individual possesses special skills relating to locks or locking devices, including use of the words lock technician, lockman, safe technician, safeman, boxman, unlocking technician, lock installer, lock opener, physical security technician or similar descriptions. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Market segment: means any line or class of insurance or, if it is described in general terms, any subdivision of insurance or any class of risks or combination of classes. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• MEI project: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 30-309
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• 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}
• Natural person: means an individual person. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Notary: means notary public. See Virginia Code 1-226
• Notification: means a statement acknowledging that the purchaser has been advised of any disclosures required by this chapter on the Real Estate Board's website or delivery of any such disclosures to the purchaser. See Virginia Code 55.1-700
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Virginia Code 1-228
• Offer and disseminate: means providing general information, including a description of the coverage and price, as well as processing the application, collecting premiums, and performing other non-licensable activities permitted by the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• 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 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
• Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal protection specialist: means any individual who engages in the duties of providing close protection from bodily harm to any person. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
• Police department: means that organization established by ordinance by a local governing body that is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals, the safeguard of life and property, the preservation of peace and the enforcement of state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• 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
• Population served by police departments: means the total base year population of the Commonwealth less the population served by sheriffs only. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Population served by sheriffs only: means the total base year population of those counties without a police department, less the latest available estimate from the United States Bureau of the Census of the total population of towns, or portions of towns, having police departments, located in such counties. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Potential crime rate: means the number of crimes per 100,000 persons in the base year population for each city or eligible county, as derived from the distribution formula. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Primary certificate holder: means a person who elects and purchases travel insurance under a group policy. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Primary policyholder: means a person who elects and purchases individual travel insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Principal broker: means the same as that term is defined in regulations promulgated by the Real Estate Board. See Virginia Code 55.1-1100
• Private entities: means dam owners, whether individuals, partnerships, corporations, or other nongovernmental entities. See Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Private investigator: means any individual who engages in the business of, or accepts employment to make, investigations to obtain information on (i) crimes or civil wrongs; (ii) the location, disposition, or recovery of stolen property; (iii) the cause of accidents, fires, damages, or injuries to persons or to property; or (iv) evidence to be used before any court, board, officer, or investigative committee. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Private security services business: means any person engaged in the business of providing, or who undertakes to provide, armored car personnel, security officers, personal protection specialists, private investigators, couriers, security canine handlers, security canine teams, detector canine handlers, detector canine teams, alarm respondents, locksmiths, central station dispatchers, electronic security employees, electronic security sales representatives or electronic security technicians and their assistants to another person under contract, express or implied. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Private security services instructor: means any individual certified by the Department to provide mandated instruction in private security subjects for a certified private security services training school. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Private security services training school: means any person certified by the Department to provide instruction in private security subjects for the training of private security services business personnel in accordance with this article. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Professional employer services: means services provided to a client company pursuant to a written agreement with a professional employer organization, including, at a minimum, the payment of wages of the coemployees, the reservation of the right of direction and control over the coemployees, and the responsibility for the withholding and payment of payroll taxes of the coemployees. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Project: means the development and implementation of activities or measures performed to eliminate, prevent, reduce, or mitigate damages caused by flooding or to identify flood hazards; the design, repair, and safety modifications of a dam or impounding structure, as defined in § Virginia Code 10.1-603.16
• Project: means the construction, improvement, furnishing, maintenance, acquisition or operation of any facility or the provision for or funding of any activity that will further the purposes described in § Virginia Code 2.2-2201
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Prospective loss costs: means historical aggregate losses and loss adjustment expenses projected through development to their ultimate value and through trending to a future point in time. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Public corporation: means the Commonwealth of Virginia or any political subdivision thereof or any incorporated municipality therein or any public agency of the Commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof or of any municipality therein. See Virginia Code 1-219.1
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Rate service organization: means any entity, including its affiliates or subsidiaries, which either has two or more member insurers or is controlled either directly or indirectly by two or more insurers, other than a joint underwriting association under § Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• 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
• Ratification: means the full execution of a real estate purchase contract by all parties. See Virginia Code 55.1-700
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Real estate contract: means a contract for the sale, exchange, or lease with the option to buy of residential real estate subject to this chapter. See Virginia Code 55.1-700
• 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}
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reciprocal: means the aggregation of subscribers under a common name. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Registration: means a method of regulation whereby certain personnel employed by a private security services business are required to register with the Department pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• 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.
• 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
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retrospective rating plan: means a rating plan that adjusts the premium for the insurance to which it applies on the basis of losses incurred during the period covered by that insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Sealer: means an inspector of weights and measures of a city, a county, or a joint city-county jurisdiction. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Security canine: means a dog that has attended, completed, and been certified as a security canine by a certified security canine handler instructor in accordance with approved Department procedures and certification guidelines. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Security canine handler: means any individual who utilizes his security canine in the performance of private security duties. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• 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 the person responsible for conducting the settlement and disbursement of the settlement proceeds and includes any individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity conducting the settlement and disbursement of loan proceeds. 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
• Solicit: means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular class of insurance from one or more insurers. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• State: means any commonwealth, state, territory, district or insular possession of the United States. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• state: means the Commonwealth of Virginia or any of its agencies or departments. See Virginia Code 2.2-2200
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
• State aid to localities with police: means that amount which bears the same relationship to the population served by police departments as state aid to sheriff-only localities bears to the population served by sheriffs only. See Virginia Code 9.1-165
• State aid to sheriff-only localities: means the estimated total amount for salaries and expenses to be paid by the Commonwealth, pursuant to Article 3 (§ Virginia Code 9.1-165
• Statistical plan: means the plan, system, or arrangement used in collecting data for rate making or other purposes. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Subscriber: means a person obligated under a reciprocal insurance agreement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Supervisor: means a member of the board of supervisors of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Supervisor: means any individual who directly or indirectly supervises registered or certified private security services business personnel. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Supplementary rate information: includes any manual or plan of rates, experience rating plan, statistical plan, classification, rating schedule, minimum premium, or minimum premium rule, policy fee, rating rule, rate-related underwriting rule, and any other information not otherwise inconsistent with the purposes of this chapter required by the Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901
• Supporting data: includes :

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1901

• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tier-city: means an incorporated community within a consolidated county that (i) has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more, (ii) has been designated as a tier-city by the General Assembly, and (iii) has both the powers of a town and such additional powers as may be granted tier-cities by the General Assembly. See Virginia Code 1-252
• Tow truck: means a motor vehicle for hire (i) designed to lift, pull, or carry another vehicle by means of a hoist or other mechanical apparatus and (ii) having a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of at least 10,000 pounds. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Towing and recovery operator: means a person engaged in the business of (i) removing disabled vehicles, parts of vehicles, their cargoes, and other objects to facilities for repair or safekeeping and (ii) restoring to the highway or other location where they either can be operated or removed to other locations for repair or safekeeping vehicles that have come to rest in places where they cannot be operated. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Travel administrator: means a person who directly or indirectly underwrites, collects, charges collateral or premiums from, or adjusts or settles claims on residents of the Commonwealth, in connection with travel insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Travel assistance services: includes (i) security advisories; (ii) destination information; (iii) vaccination and immunization information services; (iv) travel reservation services; (v) entertainment; (vi) activity and event planning; (vii) translation assistance; (viii) emergency messaging; (ix) international legal and medical referrals; (x) medical case monitoring; (xi) coordination of transportation arrangements; (xii) emergency cash transfer assistance; (xiii) medical prescription replacement assistance; (xiv) passport and travel document replacement assistance; (xv) lost luggage assistance; (xvi) concierge services; and (xvii) any other service that is furnished in connection with planned travel. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Travel insurance: means insurance coverage for personal risks incident to planned travel, including (i) interruption or cancellation of trip or event; (ii) loss of baggage or personal effects; (iii) damages to accommodations or rental vehicles; (iv) emergency evacuation; (v) repatriation of remains; or (vi) any other contractual obligations to indemnify or pay a specified amount to the traveler upon determinable contingencies related to travel as approved by the Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Travel protection plan: means any plan that provides travel insurance, travel assistance services, or cancellation fee waivers. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Travel retailer: means a business entity that offers and disseminates travel insurance on behalf of and under the direction and license of a travel insurance agent. See Virginia Code 38.2-1887
• Truck: means every motor vehicle designed to transport property on its own structure independent of any other vehicle and having a registered gross weight in excess of 7,500 pounds. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• 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.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Unarmed security officer: means a natural person who performs the functions of observation, detection, reporting, or notification of appropriate authorities or designated agents regarding persons or property on the premises he is contracted to protect, and who does not carry or have access to a firearm in the performance of his duties. See Virginia Code 9.1-138
• Vehicle: means every device in, on or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices moved by human power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Virginia Property Insurance Association: means that organization established pursuant to Chapter 27 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-2000.1
• Voter: means a qualified voter as defined in § Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Weight: means the net weight when used in connection with this chapter. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Weights and measures: means all weights and measures of every kind, including instruments and devices for weighing and measuring, and any appliances and accessories associated with any or all such instruments and devices. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.