General

UAB.
Underwriters Adjustment Bureau.

UAC.
Underwriters Adjusting Company.

UL.
See Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

Ultimate Net Loss.
The total sum that the insured or any company as its insurer, or both, become legally obligated to pay either through adjudication or compromise, including among others, legal, medical, and investigative costs.

Umpire.
For Property coverage, if a company and a claimant fail to agree on the amount of loss, each may appoint an appraiser, and these in turn select an umpire. A decision by any two of the three is binding.

Unallocated Claim (or Loss) Expense.
Expenses of loss adjustment that cannot be charged specifically to any claim. Examples would be Claim Department salaries and office overhead.

Unauthorized Insurer.
See Nonadmitted Insurer.

Underinsurance.
A condition in which not enough insurance is carried to cover the insurable value.

Underwriter.
A technician trained in evaluating risks and determining rates and coverages for them. The term derives from the practice at Lloyd's of each person willing to accept a portion of the risk writing his name under the description of the risk.

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL).
A testing laboratory for manufactured items to determine their safety propensities.

Underwriting.
The process of selecting risks and classifying them according to their degrees of insurability so that the appropriate rates may be assigned. The process also includes rejection of those risks that do not qualify.

Underwriting Profit (or Loss).
(1) The profit or loss realized from insurance operations, as contrasted with that realized from investments. (2) The excess of premiums over losses and expenses (profit) or the excesses of losses over premiums (loss).

Unearned Premium.
That portion of the written premium applicable to the unexpired or unused part of the period for which the premium has been paid. Thus, in the case of an annual premium, at the end of the first month of the premium period eleven-twelfths of the premium is unearned.

Unearned Premium Reserve.
The amount shown in the insurance company's balance sheet which represents the approximate total of the premiums which have not yet been earned as of a specific point in time. See also Unearned Premium.

Unemployment Insurance.
Insurance against loss of income due to unemployment. It is funded by payroll taxes and subject to control by both the federal and state governments. Individuals who are willing and able to work qualify for this insurance by working at a job in an eligible classification, earning a minimum amount of money, and being subject to involuntary unemployment.

Uniform Forms.
The wording on many policy documents has been agreed upon by most companies and standardized. They are printed and distributed by rating bureaus and by certain well-known establishments and are called standard or uniform forms.

Unilateral Contract.
A contract such as an insurance policy in which only one part to the contract, the insurer, makes any enforceable promise. The insured does not make a promise but pays a premium, which constitutes his part of the consideration.

United States Aircraft Insurance Group.
A group of insurers providing facilities for all forms of Aviation Insurance.

Unlevel Commission System.
A system of commissions under which the first year commission is a higher percentage of the premium than are renewal commissions.

Unreported Claims.
A reserve, based on estimates, to set up claims that have occurred but have not yet been reported to the insurer as of the time when either the policy has expired or the insurer is preparing its annual statement. See also IBNR.