Insurance Terms - S
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SARBOX) (SOX) (SOx) - (a corporate financial reform bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in July 2002, in response to a number of accounting scandals, including Enron and WorldCom - requires Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to certify their 10-Q and 10-K reports, provides for more detailed disclosure of off-balance sheet transactions, and requires attorneys to report violations of SOx)
Savings Bank Life Insurance (SBLI) - (low-cost life insurance sold by savings banks in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York)
savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE) - (a type of qualified retirement plan available to certain small employers who do not maintain any other qualified plan)
savings and loan association (S&L) - (depository financial institution, federally or state chartered, that obtains the bulk of its deposits from consumers and holds the majority of its assets as home mortgage loans)
securities class action suits filings (SCAS) - (claims brought by a publicly held corporation's shareholders alleging that actions by the firm's directors and officers caused a loss in market value of the firm's shares)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - (federal agency that regulates the securities markets - created under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to enforce the Securities Act of 1933)
Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) - (nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1970 under the Securities Investor Protection Act - SIPC is a federal insurance fund that protects assets in client accounts held by registered securities broker-dealers, if a broker-dealer firm fails)
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA) -
segregated cell captive (SCC) - (a special purpose insurer (typically operating as a rental captive) that establishes legally segregated cells of underwriting accounts - the objective is to ensure that assets in one underwriting account may not be used to satisfy liabilities in another underwriting account nor the general (noncellular) liabilities of the SCC)
segregated portfolio company (SPC) - (a special purpose insurer (typically operating as a rental captive) that establishes legally segregated cells of underwriting accounts - the objective is to ensure that assets in one underwriting account may not be used to satisfy liabilities in another underwriting account nor the general (noncellular) liabilities of the SPC - also known as a segregated cell captive (SCC) or separate account company (SAC))
self-insurance group (SIG) - (group of entities or companies which pool resources to self-insure)
Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) -
self-insured reimbursement policy (SIRP) - (payment provisions setting out the order in which losses and reimbursements under a policy are to be paid)
self-insured retention (SIR) - (a dollar amount specified in an insurance policy (usually a liability insurance policy) that must be paid by the insured before the insurance policy will respond to a loss - similar to a deductible, but not identical)
semi-fire resistive (SFR) - (construction or building material which resists or retards fire, but is combustible at higher temperatures)
Senate Bill (SB) - (federal legislation originating in the U.S. Senate)
Senior Claim Law Associate (SCLA) - (claims law specialist designation offered by the American Educational Institute requiring the successful completion of the AEI legal principles self-study program, plus three of five other AEI programs: 1) liability, 2) property, 3) workers compensation, 4) fraud, and 5) automobile)
Senior Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) - (post-retirement salary continuation plan that is an additional benefit to an employee's customary retirement plan - usually made available to a select group of highly compensated employees)
separate account company (SAC) - (a fund or account structure used in the life insurance area, which is set up and maintained separately from an insurer's general assets - generally used for investing pension assets - in the event of the insolvency of the insurer, separate accounts might be protected from creditor claims and those of other insureds)
Service Employees Group LIfe Insurance (SEGLI) - (group insurance policy issued to members of the armed forces while they are in the service - after separation, the policy is convertible to an individual policy from certain private insurers)
Servicemen's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) - (U.S. government group term life insurance for male and female members of the federal uniformed forces on active duty, underwritten by private insurance companies)
sexually transmitted disease (STD) - (disease transmitted through sexual activity, or associated with sexual activity - syphillis, HIV)
short-rate cancellation (SR) - (a financial penalty incurred when the insured cancels an insurance contract prior to the expiration date of the contract)
short-rate premium (SR) - (premium (additional) charge for a policy that is going to be in force for less than the normal period of time)
short-rate, short-term insurance (SR) - (insurance coverage for less than one year - insurers generally charge higher rates for short-term policies than for longer-term insurance)
short-term disability insurance (STD) - (a group or individual policy usually written to cover disabilities of 13 or 26 weeks' duration)
Simplified Commercial Lines Portfolio Policy (SCLP) - (commercial insurance policy providing coverage through four parts: 1) commercial property; 2) crime; 3) boiler and machinery; and 4) liability
simplified employee pension plan (SEP) - (employee individual retirement account funded by an employer or a self-employed person)
single-entry multiple company interface (SEMCI) - (generic term describing any computer system that allows the user to enter and store data and to communicate that data to others)
Single State Registration System (SSRS) - (system of registering interstate motor carriers' operating authority and proof of insurance with one base state rather than with each individual state in which it travels - SSRS officially ended as of January 1, 2009 and was replaced by the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement (UCRA))
skilled nursing facility (SNF) - (a facility designed to qualify for treatment of Medicare-eligible people - included in care is treatment for rehabilitation and other care, such as 24-hour nursing coverage, physical, occupational, and speech therapies)
Small Business Administration (SBA) - (federal agency created in 1953 to provide financial assistance, through direct loans and loan guarantees, as well as management assistance to businesses that lack the access to capital markets enjoyed by larger more creditworthy businesses)
small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) - (businesses ranging from single-owner shops to intermediate-sized employers)
Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) - (a classification of networking equipment, usually marketed to consumers or small businesses)
Social Health Maintenance Organization (SHMO) - (a demonstration project funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that combines the delivery of acute and long-term care with adult day care services and and transportation)
Social Security Administration (SSA) - (federal agency which administers the Social Security benefits system)
société d'investissement à capital (SICAV) - (French investment company with variable capital)
Society of Actuaries (SA) (SOA) - (Membership organization of individuals with special training in the application of actuarial mathematics, including compound interest, annuities, life contingencies, mortality probability, and statistics - membership requires passage of actuarial examinations.)
Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (SCIC) -
Society of Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters (SCPCU) - (membership or professional designation conferred on individuals who have satisfactorily completed eight national examinations covering various phases of property-casualty (P&C) insurance and met industry experience and ethical requirements)
Society of Insurance Accountants (SIA) -
Society of Insurance Financial Management (SIFM) -
Society of Insurance Research (SIR) -
Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators (SITE)-
Society of Professional Benefit Administrators (SPBA) -
Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) -
Society of Risk Management Consultants (SRMC) -
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) - (a third-party, cloud-based service that offers outsourced use of software, through an Internet connection, by an organization - SaaS allows an organization to use licensed software at a lower cost than buying, installing, and maintaining their own software)
solvency capital requirement (SCR) - (capital reserves, under state insurance laws, which an insurance company is required to maintain to be considered solvent - minimum amounts required to cover expected losses)
South Carolina Captive Insurance Association (SCCIA) -
South-Eastern Underwriters Association case (SEUA) - (case signficant to the insurance industry for the 1944 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the insurance business constituted interstate commerce and was thus subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act - in 1945 Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act (Public Law 15), effectively overruling the Supreme Court by exempting insurance from federal antitrust rules if it was covered by state regulation)
Southern Association of Workers' Compensation Administrators (SAWCA) -
special flood hazard area (SFHA) - (term used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to refer to the land area covered by the floodwaters of the base or 100-year floodplain)
special interest group (SIG) - (voluntary group formed within an organization which focuses on a specific subject or area of interest)
special investigative unit (SIU) - (unit or department within an insurance company involved in detecting and pursuing action against fraudulent activities on the part of insureds or claimants)
special litigation committee (SLC) - (an independent committee appointed by a company's board of directors to determine whether a shareholder derivative suit (suit by shareholders against directors or other insiders) should be pursued or terminated)
special multiperil insurance (SMP) - (type of package policy provided for large businesses providing insurance coverage in four areas: 1) property; 2) liability; 3) crime; and 4) boiler and machinery - SMP has generally been replaced by the Commercial Package Policy (CPP))
special personal auto policy (SPAP) - (an auto policy that provides only limited nonowned and permissive use coverage)
Special Purpose Company (SPC) - (finite life entities created by corporations, usually as subsidiaries, but sometimes as partnerships, trusts, or other forms of unincorporated structures, for a single, well-defined, and narrow purpose - used in several different contexts - (accounting, securities, insurance) - also known as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) or special purpose corporate vehicles (SPCVs))
Special Purpose Corporate Vehicle (SPCV) - (finite life entities created by corporations, usually as subsidiaries, but sometimes as partnerships, trusts, or other forms of unincorporated structures, for a single, well-defined, and narrow purpose - used in several different contexts - (accounting, securities, insurance) - also known as special purpose companies (SPCs) or special purpose vehicles (SPVs))
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - (finite life entities created by corporations, usually as subsidiaries, but sometimes as partnerships, trusts, or other forms of unincorporated structures, for a single, well-defined, and narrow purpose - used in several different contexts - (accounting, securities, insurance) - also known as special purpose companies (SPCs) or special purpose corporate vehicles (SPCVs))
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - (in the insurance area, usually refers to a company created by (but not owned by) an insurer or reinsurer for the sole purpose of issuing debt (usually in the form of a catastrophe bond))
specifications (SPECS) - (in insurance, a detailed description of the coverage types, amounts, and policy provisions submitted to an insurer to use in preparing a proposal)
sprinkler leakage coverage (SL) - (insurance coverage for property damage (PD) caused by the accidental discharge or leakage of water or other substances from automatic sprinkler systems - included in most property insurance policies)
standard class rate (SCR) - (a rate that is arrived at by using a base rate per participant multiplied by a factor to allow for group demographic information)
standard fire form (SF) - (insurance policy form for fire insurance that is designed to be used by many different insurers and has exactly the same provisions, regardless of the insurer issuing the policy)
standard fire policy (jurisdictions) (SFP) - (in a generic sense, SFP could refer to the standard fire policy for fire insurance, but is often used to mean states or jurisdictions with laws requiring all property policies to provide fire coverage at least equivalent to that provided by a standard fire policy)
standard flood insurance policy (SFIP) - (insurance policy form for flood insurance that is designed to be used by many different insurers and has exactly the same provisions, regardless of the insurer issuing the policy)
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) - (an obsolete system for classifying entities by type of ecconomic activity)
Standard and Poor's (S&P) - (New York-based company which provides independent credit ratings and indices, as well as risk evaluation, investment research, data, and valuations)
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - (government program, overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), that provides health insurance to children from families who do not qualify for Medicaid)
State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) - (commission appointed by each state governor according to the requirements of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 Title III)
State Implementation Plan (SIP) - (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved state plans for the establishment, regulation, and enforcement of air pollution standards)
Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles (SSAP) - (formal/official statement of the rules for insurance accounting codified by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) or as promulgated by state/domicile, as rules to be used in reporting an insurers results to regulators - Statutory Accounting Principles are generally more conservative than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP))
statewide average weekly wage (SAWW) - (a statistical computation, used in the workers' compensation area, that is periodically updated and is used to determine compensation benefit amounts)
statistical coding occupancy hazard (SCOH) - (numerical value assigned to hazards - circumstances that increase the likelihood or probable severity of a loss - related to occupancy use (how a building is used), e.g., a building housing an explosives manufacturer is at much greater risk than one occupied by a jeweler)
statute of limitations (SOL) - (period, set by law, after which a damage claim cannot be made - time limits are set by individual states and usually range from one to seven years)
statutory accounting principles (SAP) - (rules for insurance accounting codified by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) or as promulgated by various states as rules to be used in reporting an insurer's results to regulators; those principles required by statute that must be followed by an insurance company when submitting its financial statements to the state insurance department - SAPs are generally considered more conservative then Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP))
Statutory Statement of Accounting Principles (SSAP) - (state laws incorporating accounting rules covering insurance companies under Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP) by statute - Statutory Accounting Principles are generally more conservative than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) )
Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) - (in the insurance business, refers to contractual rights to a stipulated percentage of the increase in the stock value of an insurance agency over a given future period of time - such rights are used to convey a percentage of the increase in the agency's value to a key employee without resulting in the owners of the agency owning less than 50 %)
stop-loss reinsurance (SLR) - (an agreement whereby a reinsurer assumes, on a per-loss basis, all loss amounts of the reinsured, subject to the policy limit, in excess of a stated amount)
storekeepers (liability) (SK) - (insurance coverage for bodily injury and property damage liability resulting from ownership, use, and/or maintenance of the insured business's premises, completed operations, and products)
strikes, riots, and civil commotions (SR&CC) - (an ocean marine coverage provision that excludes damage from strikes, riots, civil commotions, lockouts, vandalism, and sabotage, including terrorist acts and any other acts carried out for political or ideological purposes)
subject matter expert (SME) - (individual involved in project management assigned the role of learning about/complying with organizational standards and specific project requirements)
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) - (federal legislation that provides retroactive liability for environmental claims by mandating that those who polluted the environment must pay to clean up the pollution, regardless of how long ago their actions harmed the environment)
supervision, construction, occupancy, protection, exposure (SCOPE) -
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) - (post-retirement salary continuation plan that is an additional benefit to an employee's customary retirement plan - usually made available to a select group of highly compensated employees)
Supplemental Extended Reporting Period (SERP) - (the optional extended reporting period (ERP), of unlimited duration, under the standard claims-made commercial general liability (CGL) policy)
Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) - (Part B of Medicare - a voluntary program that generally covers physician's services and various outpatient services - a premium is charged for electing Part B coverage)
SSI - Supplemental Security Income (income supplement program under Social Security to provide a minimum monthly income to aged, blind, and disabled persons)
Supplementary Employee Retirement Plan (SERP) - (post-retirement salary continuation plan that is an additional benefit to an employee's customary retirement plan - usually made available to a select group of highly compensated employees)
Surety Association of America (SAA) - (association whose membership is composed of surety bonding companies, with the primary purpose of acting as a rating bureau for member companies - became Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA))
Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) - (trade association of companies that collectively write the majority of surety and fidelity bonds in the United States - formerly the Surety Association of America (SAA))
Surety Information Office (SIO) -