GLASS INSURANCE - Coverage for glass breakage caused by all risks; fire and war are sometimes excluded. Insurance can be bought for windows, structural glass, leaded glass, and mirrors. Available with or without a deductible.

GRADUATED DRIVER LICENSES - Licenses for younger drivers that allow them to improve their skills. Regulations vary by state, but often restrict night time driving. Young drivers receive a learner's permit, followed by a provisional license, before they can receive a standard drivers license.

HACKER INSURANCE - A coverage that protects businesses engaged in electronic commerce from losses caused by hackers.

HOUSE YEAR - Equal to 365 days of insured coverage for a single dwelling. It is the standard measurement for homeowners insurance.

INDEMNIFY - Provide financial compensation for losses.

INDEPENDENT AGENT - Agent who is self-employed, is paid on commission, and represents several insurance companies.

INFLATION GUARD CLAUSE - A provision added to a homeowners insurance policy that automatically adjusts the coverage limit on the dwelling each time the policy is renewed to reflect current construction costs.

INLAND MARINE INSURANCE - A broad type of coverage developed for shipments that do not involve ocean transport. Covers all forms of land and air transit. Floaters are included in this category.

INSOLVENCY - Insurer's inability to pay debts. Insurance insolvency standards and the regulatory actions taken vary from state to state, but the last resort in the case of insolvency is liquidation.

INSURABLE RISK - Risks for which it is relatively easy to get insurance and that meet certain criteria. These include being definable, accidental in nature, and part of a group of similar risks large enough to make losses predictable. The insurance company also must be able to come up with a reasonable price for the insurance.

INSURANCE - A system to make large financial losses more affordable by transferring the risk from individuals to large groups, or pools, in return for a premium.

INSURANCE POOL - A group of insurance companies that pool assets, enabling them to provide an amount of insurance substantially more than can be provided by individual companies to ensure large risks such as nuclear power stations. Pools may be formed voluntarily or mandated by the state to cover risks that can't obtain coverage in the voluntary market such as coastal properties subject to hurricanes.

INSURANCE REGULATORY INFORMATION SYSTEM / IRIS - Uses financial ratios to measure insurers' financial strength. Developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Each individual state insurance department chooses how to use IRIS.

INSURANCE-TO-VALUE - Insurance written in an amount approximating the value of the insured property.

INTERNET INSURER - An insurer that sells exclusively via the Internet.

INTERNET LIABILITY INSURANCE - Coverage designed to protect businesses from liabilities that arise from the conducting of business over the Internet, including copyright infringement, defamation, and violation of privacy.

JOINT UNDERWRITING ASSOCIATION / JUA - Insurers which join together to provide coverage for a particular type of risk or size of exposure, when there are difficulties in obtaining coverage in the regular market, and which share in the profits and losses associated with the program. JUAs may be set up to provide auto and homeowners insurance and various commercial coverages, such as medical malpractice.

LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS - The theory of probability on which the business of insurance is based. Simply put, this mathematical premise says that the larger the group of units insured, such as sport-utility vehicles, the more accurate the predictions of loss will be.

LIABILITY INSURANCE - Insurance for what the policyholder is legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury or property damage caused to another person.

LIMITS - Maximum amount of insurance that can be paid for a covered loss.

LINE - Type or kind of insurance, such as personal lines.

LLOYD'S OF LONDON - A marketplace where underwriting syndicates, or mini-insurers, gather to sell insurance policies and reinsurance. Originally, Lloyd's was a London coffee house in the 1600s patronized by shipowners who insured each other's hulls and cargoes.

LLOYDS - Corporation formed to market services of a group of underwriters. Does not issue insurance policies or provide insurance protection. Insurance is written by individual underwriters, with each assuming a part of every risk. Has no connection to Lloyd's of London, and is found primarily in Texas.

LOSS - A reduction in the quality or value of a property, or a legal liability.

LOSS RATIO - Percentage of each premium dollar an insurer spends on claims.

LOSS RESERVES - The company's best estimate of what it will pay for claims, which is periodically readjusted. They represent a liability on the insurer's balance sheet.