List of countries

The terms country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:

* the list of countries, listing countries in the sense of independent states (both those that are internationally recognized and generally unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.
* the list of sovereign states, listing sovereign states with information on the extent of their sovereignty. It includes both states widely recognized (de jure) to be sovereign and entities that claim sovereignty while exercising de facto control over (part of) their claimed territory.

Related lists are the lists of federations, unrecognized countries, autonomous areas, dependent territories, and territorial disputes. In some contexts country and state is also used for some subnational entities.[39] More lists of countries can be found at the lists of countries.

This list of countries, arranged alphabetically, gives an overview of countries of the world. It includes territories that are independent states (both those that are internationally recognized and generally unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.

Such inclusion criteria means the list does not treat the word "country" as synonymous with "sovereign state," as one may often find in colloquial usage. Note, that in certain circumstances and in certain languages the term country is understood in the most restrictive sense, thus including only the 193 entities mentioned under the first item below.

The list covers all areas under the jurisdiction of the listed countries, namely territory, territorial waters (including internal waters and contiguous zones), exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and airspace.

The names of countries in the list are given in English and include both an English version of the short official or normative names (e.g. Afghanistan) and an English version of the (longer) official names (e.g. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan). The listing of any name in this article is not meant to imply an official position in any naming dispute.
Contents: Included entities - Entities not included

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
See also - References - Footnotes - External links

Types of political entities included

On this list are 245 entities of the following types:

* 193 states with general international recognition:
o 192 member states of the United Nations (UN).
o 1 state with general international recognition but not UN membership, governed by the Holy See (a UN permanent observer): Vatican City.
* 8 states lacking general international recognition, none of which are UN members, that may be defined as states in the body of customary international law and drawing on the precedent of the Montevideo Convention:
o 1 state, no longer a UN member since late 1971, recognized by 23 UN member states and the Holy See (Vatican City), and currently with de facto international relations with many others, the Republic of China (commonly referred to as Taiwan).
o 1 state, member of the African Union and the Asian-African Strategic Partnership formed at the 2005 Asian-African Conference, recognized by 46 UN member states but never admitted to the UN itself, with most of its claimed territory under Moroccan de facto administration, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Western Sahara.
o 1 de facto independent state, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states except Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.[1]
o 5 de facto independent states, namely Abkhazia (Georgia),[2] Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan),[3] Transnistria (Moldova),[4] Somaliland (Somalia),[5] and South Ossetia (Georgia),[6] none recognized by any UN member states.
* 38 inhabited dependent territories:
o 3 external territories of Australia (Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island).
o 2 overseas countries in the Kingdom of Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland).
o 7 overseas territories of France:[7]
+ 1 sui generis (unique) community (New Caledonia).
+ 6 overseas collectivities:
# 1 overseas country (French Polynesia)
# 1 departmental collectivity (Mayotte)
# 1 territorial collectivity (Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
# 2 collectivities (Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin)
# 1 territory (Wallis and Futuna)
o 2 overseas countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba and Netherlands Antilles).
o 3 dependent territories of New Zealand:
+ 2 states in free association with New Zealand (Cook Islands and Niue).
+ 1 overseas territory (Tokelau).
o 16 British dependencies:
+ 13 overseas territories of the United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena (and its dependencies Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia).
+ 3 Crown dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).
o 5 unincorporated territories of the United States:
+ 2 commonwealths (Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico).
+ 2 organized territories (Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands).
+ 1 de facto organized territory lacking an Organic Act (American Samoa).
* 6 special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement (Åland in Finland, Svalbard in Norway, Kosovo in Serbia, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as the 2 special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China - Hong Kong and Macau).
* 1 Supranational union (European Union composed of 27 countries) It´s sovereignty is based upon the independence of the EC (e.g. independence - Art 7 TEC, majority decisions - Art 251 TEC) and the common binding legal framework.

In the Annex to the list of countries, an outline is given on the entities not included in this list. This includes distinct political and legal entities which are countries but are considered integral parts of a sovereign state, notably the constituent countries of the United Kingdom and the Länder of Germany.

Key of country names

* Bahrain (bold) - States with general international recognition.
* Abkhazia (bold and italic) - States lacking general international recognition.
* Cayman Islands (unbold) - Other non-state countries.

List of countries

A

* Flag of Abkhazia Abkhazia – Republic of Abkhazia[2]
* Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan – Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
* Flag of the United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia – Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Åland Åland – Åland Islands (Autonomous province of Finland)
* Flag of Albania Albania – Republic of Albania
* Flag of Algeria Algeria – People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
* Flag of American Samoa American Samoa – Territory of American Samoa (US territory)
* Flag of Andorra Andorra – Principality of Andorra
* Flag of Angola Angola – Republic of Angola
* Flag of Anguilla Anguilla (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda
* Flag of Argentina Argentina – Argentine Republic[8]
* Flag of Armenia Armenia – Republic of Armenia
* Flag of Aruba Aruba (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
* Flag of the United Kingdom Ascension Island (Dependency of the UK overseas territory of Saint Helena)
* Flag of Australia Australia – Commonwealth of Australia
* Flag of Austria Austria – Republic of Austria
* Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan – Republic of Azerbaijan[9]

B

* Flag of the Bahamas Bahamas, The – Commonwealth of The Bahamas
* Flag of Bahrain Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain
* Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh – People's Republic of Bangladesh
* Flag of Barbados Barbados
* Flag of Belarus Belarus – Republic of Belarus
* Flag of Belgium Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium
* Flag of Belize Belize
* Flag of Benin Benin – Republic of Benin
* Flag of Bermuda Bermuda (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Bhutan Bhutan – Kingdom of Bhutan
* Flag of Bolivia Bolivia – Republic of Bolivia
* Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina[10]
* Flag of Botswana Botswana – Republic of Botswana
* Flag of Brazil Brazil – Federative Republic of Brazil
* Flag of Brunei Brunei – Negara Brunei Darussalam
* Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria
* Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
* For "Burma", see Myanmar
* Flag of Burundi Burundi – Republic of Burundi

C

* Flag of Cambodia Cambodia – Kingdom of Cambodia
* Flag of Cameroon Cameroon – Republic of Cameroon
* Flag of Canada Canada[11]
* Flag of Cape Verde Cape Verde – Republic of Cape Verde
* Flag of Cayman Islands Cayman Islands (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of the Central African Republic Central African Republic[12]
* Flag of Chad Chad – Republic of Chad
* Flag of Chile Chile – Republic of Chile
* Flag of the People's Republic of China China – People's Republic of China[13]
* For "Republic of China", see Taiwan
* Flag of Christmas Island Christmas Island – Territory of Christmas Island (Australian overseas territory)
* Flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australian overseas territory)
* Flag of Colombia Colombia – Republic of Colombia
* Flag of the Comoros Comoros – Union of the Comoros
* Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo – Democratic Republic of the Congo[14]
* Flag of the Republic of the Congo Congo – Republic of the Congo[15]
* Flag of the Cook Islands Cook Islands (Associated state of New Zealand)
* Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica – Republic of Costa Rica
* Flag of Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire – Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
* Flag of Croatia Croatia – Republic of Croatia
* Flag of Cuba Cuba – Republic of Cuba
* Flag of Cyprus Cyprus – Republic of Cyprus[16]
* Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic[17]

D

* Flag of Denmark Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark
* For "Dhekelia", see Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Flag of Djibouti Djibouti – Republic of Djibouti
* Flag of Dominica Dominica – Commonwealth of Dominica
* Flag of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

E

* Flag of East Timor East Timor – Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
* Flag of Ecuador Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador
* Flag of Egypt Egypt – Arab Republic of Egypt
* Flag of El Salvador El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador
* Flag of Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea – Republic of Equatorial Guinea
* Flag of Eritrea Eritrea – State of Eritrea
* Flag of Estonia Estonia – Republic of Estonia
* Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia – Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
* Flag of Europe European Union – European Union (Supranational union including sovereign acting EC)

F

* Flag of the Falkland Islands Falkland Islands (UK overseas territory)[18]
* Flag of the Faroe Islands Faroe Islands (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
* Flag of Fiji Fiji – Republic of the Fiji Islands
* Flag of Finland Finland – Republic of Finland
* Flag of France France – French Republic
* Flag of French Polynesia French Polynesia (French overseas collectivity)

G

* Flag of Gabon Gabon – Gabonese Republic
* Flag of The Gambia Gambia, The – Republic of The Gambia
* Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia[19]
* Flag of Germany Germany – Federal Republic of Germany
* Flag of Ghana Ghana – Republic of Ghana
* Flag of Gibraltar Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Greece Greece – Hellenic Republic
* Flag of Greenland Greenland (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
* Flag of Grenada Grenada
* Flag of Guam Guam – Territory of Guam (US organized territory)
* Flag of Guatemala Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala
* Flag of Guernsey Guernsey – Bailiwick of Guernsey (British Crown dependency)[20]
* Flag of Guinea Guinea – Republic of Guinea
* Flag of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau – Republic of Guinea-Bissau
* Flag of Guyana Guyana – Co-operative Republic of Guyana

H

* Flag of Haiti Haiti – Republic of Haiti
* Flag of Honduras Honduras – Republic of Honduras
* Flag of Hong Kong Hong Kong – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)[21]
* Flag of Hungary Hungary – Republic of Hungary

I

* Flag of Iceland Iceland – Republic of Iceland
* Flag of India India – Republic of India
* Flag of Indonesia Indonesia – Republic of Indonesia
* Flag of Iran Iran – Islamic Republic of Iran
* Flag of Iraq Iraq – Republic of Iraq
* Flag of Ireland Ireland - Republic of Ireland[22]
* Flag of the Isle of Man Isle of Man (British Crown dependency)
* Flag of Israel Israel – State of Israel
* Flag of Italy Italy – Italian Republic
* For "Ivory Coast", see Côte d'Ivoire

J

* Flag of Jamaica Jamaica
* Flag of Japan Japan
* Flag of Jersey Jersey – Bailiwick of Jersey (British Crown dependency)
* Flag of Jordan Jordan – Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K

* Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan – Republic of Kazakhstan
* Flag of Kenya Kenya – Republic of Kenya
* Flag of Kiribati Kiribati – Republic of Kiribati
* Flag of North Korea Korea, North – Democratic People's Republic of Korea[23]
* Flag of South Korea Korea, South – Republic of Korea[24]
* Flag of the United Nations Kosovo[25]
* Flag of Kuwait Kuwait – State of Kuwait
* Flag of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyz Republic[26]

L

* Flag of Laos Laos – Lao People's Democratic Republic
* Flag of Latvia Latvia – Republic of Latvia
* Flag of Lebanon Lebanon – Republic of Lebanon
* Flag of Lesotho Lesotho – Kingdom of Lesotho
* Flag of Liberia Liberia – Republic of Liberia
* Flag of Libya Libya – Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
* Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein – Principality of Liechtenstein
* Flag of Lithuania Lithuania – Republic of Lithuania
* Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

M

* Flag of Macau Macao – Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)[27]
* Flag of the Republic of Macedonia Macedonia – Republic of Macedonia[28]
* Flag of Madagascar Madagascar – Republic of Madagascar
* Flag of Malawi Malawi – Republic of Malawi
* Flag of Malaysia Malaysia
* Flag of the Maldives Maldives – Republic of Maldives
* Flag of Mali Mali – Republic of Mali
* Flag of Malta Malta – Republic of Malta
* Flag of the Marshall Islands Marshall Islands – Republic of the Marshall Islands
* Flag of Mauritania Mauritania – Islamic Republic of Mauritania
* Flag of Mauritius Mauritius – Republic of Mauritius
* Flag of Mayotte Mayotte – Departmental Collectivity of Mayotte (French overseas collectivity)
* Flag of Mexico Mexico – United Mexican States
* Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia
* Flag of Moldova Moldova – Republic of Moldova[29]
* Flag of Monaco Monaco – Principality of Monaco
* Flag of Mongolia Mongolia
* Flag of Montenegro Montenegro – Republic of Montenegro
* Flag of Montserrat Montserrat (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Morocco Morocco – Kingdom of Morocco[30]
* Flag of Mozambique Mozambique – Republic of Mozambique
* Flag of Burma Myanmar – Union of Myanmar

N

* Flag of Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh – Nagorno-Karabakh Republic[3]
* Flag of Namibia Namibia – Republic of Namibia
* Flag of Nauru Nauru – Republic of Nauru
* Flag of Nepal Nepal – State of Nepal
* Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands – Kingdom of the Netherlands[31]
* Flag of the Netherlands Antilles Netherlands Antilles (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
* Flag of New Caledonia New Caledonia – Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies (French community sui generis)
* Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
* Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua – Republic of Nicaragua
* Flag of Niger Niger – Republic of Niger
* Flag of Nigeria Nigeria – Federal Republic of Nigeria
* Flag of Niue Niue (Associated state of New Zealand)
* Flag of Norfolk Island Norfolk Island – Territory of Norfolk Island (Australian overseas territory)
* Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus – Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus[1]
* Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands – Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US commonwealth)
* For "North Korea", see Korea, North
* Flag of Norway Norway – Kingdom of Norway

O

* Flag of Oman Oman – Sultanate of Oman

P

* Flag of Pakistan Pakistan – Islamic Republic of Pakistan
* Flag of Palau Palau – Republic of Palau
* Palestinian flag Palestine – Occupied Palestinian Territories[32]
* Flag of Panama Panama – Republic of Panama
* Flag of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea – Independent State of Papua New Guinea
* Flag of Paraguay Paraguay – Republic of Paraguay
* For "People's Republic of China", see China
* Flag of Peru Peru – Republic of Peru
* Flag of the Philippines Philippines – Republic of the Philippines
* Flag of the Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Poland Poland – Republic of Poland
* Flag of Portugal Portugal – Portuguese Republic
* For "Pridnestrovie", see Transnistria
* Flag of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico – Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (US commonwealth)

Q

* Flag of Qatar Qatar – State of Qatar

R

* Flag of Romania Romania
* Flag of Russia Russia – Russian Federation
* Flag of Rwanda Rwanda – Republic of Rwanda

S

* Flag of Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy – Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French overseas collectivity)
* Flag of Saint Helena Saint Helena (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis – Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
* Flag of Saint Lucia Saint Lucia
* Flag of Saint Martin (France) Saint Martin – Collectivity of Saint Martin (French overseas collectivity)
* Flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon – Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French overseas collectivity)
* Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Flag of Samoa Samoa – Independent State of Samoa
* Flag of San Marino San Marino – Most Serene Republic of San Marino
* Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe – Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
* Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
* Flag of Senegal Senegal – Republic of Senegal
* Flag of Serbia Serbia – Republic of Serbia[33]
* Flag of the Seychelles Seychelles – Republic of Seychelles
* Flag of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone – Republic of Sierra Leone
* Flag of Singapore Singapore – Republic of Singapore
* Flag of Slovakia Slovakia – Slovak Republic
* Flag of Slovenia Slovenia – Republic of Slovenia
* Flag of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands
* Flag of Somalia Somalia[34]
* Flag of Somaliland Somaliland – Republic of Somaliland[5]
* Flag of South Africa South Africa – Republic of South Africa
* For "South Korea", see Korea, South
* Flag of South Ossetia South Ossetia – Republic of South Ossetia[6]
* Flag of Spain Spain – Kingdom of Spain
* Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka – Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
* Flag of Sudan Sudan – Republic of the Sudan
* Flag of Suriname Suriname – Republic of Suriname
* Flag of Svalbard Svalbard (Territory of Norway)[35]
* Flag of Swaziland Swaziland – Kingdom of Swaziland
* Flag of Sweden Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden
* Flag of Switzerland Switzerland – Swiss Confederation
* Flag of Syria Syria – Syrian Arab Republic

T

* Flag of the Republic of China Taiwan – Republic of China[36]
* Flag of Tajikistan Tajikistan – Republic of Tajikistan
* Flag of Tanzania Tanzania – United Republic of Tanzania
* Flag of Thailand Thailand – Kingdom of Thailand
* For "Timor-Leste", see East Timor
* Flag of Togo Togo – Togolese Republic
* Flag of Tokelau Tokelau (Overseas territory of New Zealand)
* Flag of Tonga Tonga – Kingdom of Tonga
* Flag of Transnistria Transnistria - Transnistrian Moldovan Republic[4]
* Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago – Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
* Flag of Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (Dependency of the UK overseas territory of Saint Helena)
* Flag of Tunisia Tunisia – Tunisian Republic
* Flag of Turkey Turkey – Republic of Turkey
* Flag of Turkmenistan Turkmenistan
* Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of Tuvalu Tuvalu

U

* Flag of Uganda Uganda – Republic of Uganda
* Flag of Ukraine Ukraine
* Flag of the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
* Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
* Flag of the United States United States – United States of America
* Flag of Uruguay Uruguay – Eastern Republic of Uruguay
* Flag of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan – Republic of Uzbekistan

V

* Flag of Vanuatu Vanuatu – Republic of Vanuatu
* Flag of the Vatican City Vatican City – State of the Vatican City[37]
* Flag of Venezuela Venezuela – Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
* Flag of Vietnam Vietnam – Socialist Republic of Vietnam
* Flag of the British Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, British – British Virgin Islands (UK overseas territory)
* Flag of the United States Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, United States – United States Virgin Islands (US organized territory)

W

* Flag of Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna – Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands (French overseas collectivity)
* Flag of Western Sahara Western Sahara[38]

Y

* Flag of Yemen Yemen – Republic of Yemen

Z

* Flag of Zambia Zambia – Republic of Zambia
* Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe – Republic of Zimbabwe

See also

Main articles: Lists of countries and Lists by country

* Annex to the list of countries
* List of international rankings
* List of unrecognized states
* Geography
* The Earth
* Continent

Countries by geographic locale
[show]
v • d • e
Countries of Africa


West Africa


Benin · Burkina Faso · Cape Verde · Côte d'Ivoire · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo


North Africa


Algeria · Egypt1 · Libya · Mauritania · Morocco · Sudan · Tunisia · Western Sahara


Central Africa


Angola · Burundi · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Gabon · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe


East Africa


Burundi · Comoros · Djibouti · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Kenya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mauritius · Mozambique · Rwanda · Seychelles · Somalia · Tanzania · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe


Southern Africa


Botswana · Lesotho · Namibia · South Africa · Swaziland

Dependencies | Unrecognized
British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) · Mayotte (France) · Réunion (France) · St. Helena2 (UK) | Canary Islands (Spain) · Ceuta (Spain) · Madeira (Portugal) · Melilla (Spain) ·
Socotra (Yemen) · Puntland · Somaliland · Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

1 Partly in Asia. 2 Includes the dependencies of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
[show]
v • d • e
Countries of Asia

Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China, People's Republic of · China, Republic of (Taiwan)2 · Cyprus · Egypt3 · Georgia1 · India · Indonesia4 · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan1 · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia1 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Timor-Leste (East Timor)4 · Turkey1 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen3

For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

1 Partly or significantly in Europe. 2 The Republic of China (Taiwan) is not officially recognized by the United Nations; see Political status of Taiwan.
3 Partly or significantly in Africa. 4 Partly or wholly reckoned in Oceania.
[show]
v • d • e
Sovereign states of Europe

Albania · Andorra · Armenia2 · Austria · Azerbaijan1 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus2 · Czech Republic · Denmark3 · Estonia · Finland · France1 · Georgia1 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy3 · Kazakhstan1 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands3 · Norway3 · Poland · Portugal3 · Romania · Russia1 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain1 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey1 · Ukraine · United Kingdom3 · Vatican City

1 Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2 Entirely in West Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe. 3 Has dependencies or similar territories outside Europe.
[show]
v • d • e
Countries of North America
Several nations listed here straddle both North and South America or can also be considered Caribbean
Sovereign states

Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · France (Guadeloupe & Martinique) · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama · St. Kitts and Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · United States
Dependencies
Denmark Greenland
France Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Netherlands Aruba · Netherlands Antilles
United Kingdom Anguilla · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Montserrat · Turks and Caicos Islands
United States Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands
[show]
v • d • e
Countries and territories of Oceania


Australasia


Australia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · New Zealand1 · Norfolk Island


Melanesia


East Timor 2 · Fiji · Indonesia (Maluku Islands) · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea3 · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu


Micronesia


Federated States of Micronesia · Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Nauru · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau


Polynesia


American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna

1 Often included in Polynesia · 2 East Timor is often included in Asia
3 New Guinea is often included in Australasia
[show]
v • d • e
Countries of South America
Countries and territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas shown in italics


Sovereign states
Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago · Uruguay · Venezuela

Dependencies
Aruba (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands (UK) · French Guiana (France) · Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK)


[hide]
v • d • e
Lists of countries with rankings
Geography

Area · Coastline · Highest point · Lowest point · Compactness · Coast/area ratio · Northernmost point · Southernmost point · Continent · Number of neighbouring countries
Demographics

Population (graphical • by density) · Population growth rate · Life expectancy · Infant mortality rate · Fertility rate · Birth rate · Death rate · List of countries by sex ratio · Homicide rate · Human Development Index · Income equality · Literacy rate · HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate · Unemployment rate · Employment rate · Population living in poverty · Poverty Index · Immigrant population · Suicide rate · Undernourishment rate · Firearm-related death rate · Gun ownership
Economy

Current account balance · Foreign exchange reserves · Imports · Number of internet users · Number of telephone lines · Exports (per capita) · Debt (External, Public) · Consumption (Electricity, Natural gas, Electricity Intensity) · Production (Natural gas production by country, Natural gas proven reserves, Oil proven reserves, Automobile production, Steel production, Aluminium production)

GDP


Nominal (per capita) · PPP (per capita • per capita per hour)
Past (nominal • PPP) · Future (nominal • PPP • PPP per capita) •GDP per capita (Atlas Method) · Growth (real • per capita)
Sector composition · Demographics comparison
Politics
Society

Heads of state and government · Political rights and civil liberties · Press freedom · Privacy · Perception of corruption · Bribe paying · Property rights · Economic freedom · Democracy · Globalization · Ease of doing business · Economic competitiveness · Date of formation · Legal drinking age · School leaving age · Abortion law · Homosexuality laws · Death penalty · Quality-of-life · E-readiness · Failed States index · Travel Freedom · Student Performance ·
Military

Military expenditures · Number of active troops · Possession of nuclear weapons · UN peacekeepers currently deployed · Global Peace Index
Environment

Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita) · Greenhouse gas emissions per capita · GDP per emissions · Sustainability · Environmental Performance · Happy Planet Index
Articles that include one or more maps are shown in italics.


[hide]
v • d • e
Lists by country
Lists of
topics

Main article on each country · Country portals · Country categories · Country topics
Culture · Demography · Economy · Geography · History · Maps · Politics · Religion · Sport · Country subdivisions · Tourism · Transport
Codes

Country calling codes · FIPS country codes · Internet TLDs · IOC country codes · ISO country codes · Ship prefixes
Names and
symbols

Adjectives · Country name etymologies · Country native names · Coats of arms · Flags · State mottos · National anthems · National emblems
Politics and
government

Election results · Incumbents · Intelligence agencies · National leaders · National legislatures · Political parties (party systems) · Sovereign states · System of government · Member states of the United Nations · Voting systems
Other data
by country

Abortion law · Airlines · Armed forces · Authors · Battles · Cathedrals · Cemeteries · Cities · Colleges and universities · Currencies · Death penalty · Education · Emergency contraception · Football (soccer) · Forex rates · Homosexuality laws · Islands · Light-rail transit systems · Music genres · National capitals (historical) · National parks · Newspapers · Official languages · People · Common family names · Railway companies · Schools · World Heritage Sites
Other lists

Member states of the European Union (by accession • by political system) · Oldest person · Tallest buildings and structures
Articles that include one or more maps are shown in italics.

References

* List of TerritoriesPDF (151 KiB) (2004). United Nations Cartographic Section. Retrieved 17 January 2006.
* Countries or areas, codes and abbreviations (2006). United Nations Statistics Division. Retrieved 18 October 2006 .
* Countries and currencies (2006). European Commission. Retrieved 27 October 2006.
* The World Factbook (2006). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2006.
* ISO 3166 country code list (2006) ISO 3166-1 Retrieved 18 October 2006 .

Footnotes

1. ^ a b The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of the Republic of Cyprus, recognized by no UN member states except Turkey. Though without universal diplomatic recognition, it was accepted as an observer state of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the name of Turkish Cypriot State since 1979. In addition, the legislature of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic regards TRNC as sovereign but Azerbaijan, who exercises sovereignty over Nakhichevan, has not followed suit. See The World Factbook - Cyprus (10 January 2006). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
2. ^ a b Abkhazia is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of Georgia, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states. See Regions and territories: Abkhazia (14 December 2005). BBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
3. ^ a b Nagorno-Karabakh is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states. See Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh (17 January 2006). BBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
4. ^ a b Transnistria is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of the Republic of Moldova, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states, commonly known and referred to internationally as Transnistria, but sometimes referred to as "Pridnestrovie" (along with the corresponding long-form name "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic"). See Regions and territories: Trans-Dniester (13 December 2005). BBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
5. ^ a b Somaliland is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of the Somali Republic, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states. See Regions and territories: Somaliland (30 December 2005). BBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
6. ^ a b South Ossetia is a de facto independent state inside the de jure territory of Georgia, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states. See Regions and territories: South Ossetia (14 December 2005). BBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
7. ^ The overseas regions/overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion are integral part of France, and therefore not listed.
8. ^ Argentina is also named Argentine Nation for purposes of legislation.
9. ^ See also Nagorno-Karabakh.
10. ^ See also entities Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, as well as District Brčko.
11. ^ Canada is officially also (but infrequently) referred to as Dominion of Canada.
12. ^ The Central African Republic is also infrequently rendered as Central Africa.
13. ^ Commonly known as China, the area under the domain of the People's Republic of China is occasionally rendered as mainland China in the relationship with its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as well as its relations with the Republic of China.
14. ^ The Democratic Republic of the Congo is referred to as Congo-Kinshasa to distinguish it from the Republic of the Congo. It is also often referred to as Zaire, its official name from 1971 to 1997.
15. ^ The Republic of the Congo is referred to as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
16. ^ See also Northern Cyprus.
17. ^ The Czech Republic is also infrequently rendered as Czechia. See Names of the Czech Republic.
18. ^ Falkland Islands is also claimed by Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
19. ^ See also Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
20. ^ The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes its self-governing dependencies Alderney, Herm and Sark.
21. ^ Hong Kong is a Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. It is often diplomatically known as Hong Kong, China.
22. ^ Ireland is often referred to as the Republic of Ireland as the official "description" of the state in order to distinguish it from the island of Ireland as a whole.
23. ^ The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is popularly known as North Korea.
24. ^ The Republic of Korea is popularly known as South Korea.
25. ^ Kosovo is a de jure autonomous province of Serbia, the formal name of which is "Kosovo and Metohija". It has been under United Nations administration since 1999 under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 that ended the Kosovo conflict. That resolution reaffirmed the sovereignty of Serbia over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties. See also Constitutional status of Kosovo.
26. ^ Kyrgyzstan is also sometimes rendered as Kirghizia.
27. ^ Macao is a Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. It is diplomatically known as Macao, China.
28. ^ Republic of Macedonia is referred to by UN and a number of countries and international organizations as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
29. ^ See also Transnistria.
30. ^ See also Western Sahara.
31. ^ Legally the Netherlands refers to the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the latter consisting of the Netherlands and two overseas countries, namely Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.
32. ^ The Occupied Palestinian Territories are those portions of the former British Mandate of Palestine captured and administered by Jordan and Egypt in the late 1940's, and later by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. They include Gaza Strip and West Bank, both of which are now divded into 3 areas (Area A, Area B, and Area C) and 16 governorates under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority in accordance with the Oslo Accords. The permanent legal and political status of these places are subject to further negotiation between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
33. ^ See also Kosovo - under UN administration.
34. ^ Somalia is presently fragmented with its Transitional National Government in exile. See also Somaliland.
35. ^ Svalbard is an overseas territory of Norway recognized by international treaty.
36. ^ The Republic of China (ROC) is a state commonly referred to as Taiwan. It is also diplomatically occasionally known as Chinese Taipei or other names. The ROC is no longer an United Nations member since late 1971 and regarded by UN as Taiwan, Province of China (see also One-China policy and Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China). It is currently recognized by the Holy See and 23 UN member states and with de facto international relations with most others. The political status of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories currently under the ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. The ROC should not be confused with the Republic of Taiwan proposed by supporters of Taiwan independence.
37. ^ Vatican City is administered by a Governor appointed by the Pope, with the latter being the head of the Holy See and that of the Vatican City concurrently.
38. ^ Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony which was in 1960s put on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories subject to decolonization. It is claimed by the Kingdom of Morocco which currently rules large portion of it, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) which exercises effective control over the area east of Moroccan Wall. SADR is a member of the African Union and the Asian-African Strategic Partnership formed at the 2005 Asian-African Conference. It is currently recognized by 46 UN member states but has never been admitted to UN itself. UN has attempted to hold a referendum through the mission United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), and is holding direct talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front (the ruling party of SADR). Despite these attempts, however, the legal and political status of Western Sahara remain unresolved. See also Legal status of Western Sahara.
39. ^ E.g. the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

External links

* How many countries are there in the world? an article by David Madore on this unanswerable question

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries"

Categories: Semi-protected against vandalism | Lists of countries

Insurance COmpanies in Netherlands

Deltal Loyd Deltal Loyd
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Long-term savings, general insurance, asset management and banking products
[Modified: 23 Jun 2003 - Hits: 162 - Votes: 0 ]
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Insurance Companies france

* AGF M.A.T. AGF M.A.T.
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Spécialiste de l'Assurance Maritime Aviation Transport (filiale d'Allianz)
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 262 - Votes: 0 ]
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* AMV - Assurances Auto Moto verte AMV - Assurances Auto Moto verte
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
moto et spécialiste de l'assurance des particuliers, devis gratuit
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 343 - Votes: 0 ]
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* April April
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
APRIL Assurances conçoit et met en œuvre des contrats d'assurance de personne
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 185 - Votes: 0 ]
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* ARCALIS ARCALIS
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Spécialisée dans l'assurance obsèques et l'assurance famille après décès.
[Modified: 06 Sep 2000 - Hits: 160 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Athena Afrique Athena Afrique
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Assureur et réassureur sur le continent africain
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 172 - Votes: 0 ]
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* AURIA VIE Assurances AURIA VIE Assurances
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Assurance Vie
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 323 - Votes: 0 ]
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* AXA en France AXA en France
Rating on Qualisteam: 4.00
Les sociétés d'assurance et d'assistance AXA en France
[Modified: 19 Jul 2000 - Hits: 240 - Votes: 1 ]
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* Axeria iard Axeria iard
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Spécialisée en assurances dommages, Axeria iard conçoit et gère des offres à destination des particuliers et des entreprises, distribuées par un réseau de courtiers.
[Modified: 21 Mar 2006 - Hits: 183 - Votes: 0 ]
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* CGU France Commercial Union France CGU France Commercial Union France
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
A absorbé le groupe Victoire en 1994
[Modified: 19 Jul 2000 - Hits: 201 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Chubb France Chubb France
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Groupe de compagnies d'assurance IARD plus connu sous le nom de Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 232 - Votes: 0 ]
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* CNP CNP
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
intervient sur les cinq segments du marché de l'assurance de personnes : l'épargne, la retraite, la prévoyance, les garanties santé et l'assurance en couverture de prêts.
[Modified: 19 Jul 2000 - Hits: 225 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Compagnie Européenne de Garanties Immobilières Compagnie Européenne de Garanties Immobilières
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Groupe Caisse d'Epargne - L'assureur caution au service des professionnels de l'immobilier.
[Modified: 06 Sep 2000 - Hits: 127 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Direct Assurance (Axa) Direct Assurance (Axa)
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Calcul du devis assurance auto en ligne
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 280 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Eagle Star Vie (groupe Zurich) Eagle Star Vie (groupe Zurich)
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
assurance vie
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 316 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Fédération Continentale Fédération Continentale
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Assurance vie Groupe Generali)
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 168 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Fortis Assurances Fortis Assurances
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Epargne, retraite, placement, prévoyance
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 162 - Votes: 0 ]
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* GAN GAN
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Dossier prévention, fiscalité, guide
[Modified: 18 May 2007 - Hits: 180 - Votes: 0 ]
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* GAN GAN
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Portail du Gan
[Modified: 09 Jul 2004 - Hits: 216 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Groupe Azur Groupe Azur
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Azur exerce ses métiers dans l'assurance dommages, l'assurance de personnes ou la santé
[Modified: 21 Mar 2006 - Hits: 202 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Groupe Generali en France Groupe Generali en France
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Le groupe Generali, dans le monde, rassemble 175 sociétés dont 118 compagnies d'assurances, 50 holdings et 7 sociétés immobilières
[Modified: 19 Jul 2000 - Hits: 143 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Groupe Swiss Life (France) Groupe Swiss Life (France)
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
assurances retraites, épargne, placement
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 147 - Votes: 0 ]
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* La Mondiale Partenaire La Mondiale Partenaire
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Compagnie d'assurance vie spécialisée sur le marché de la gestion de contrats haut de gamme d'assurance patrimoniale pour le compte de partenaires.
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 159 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Médicale de France (La) Médicale de France (La)
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Assureur des Professionnels de la Santé
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 120 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Neuflize OBC Neuflize OBC
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Société d'assurance vie et de capitalisation, NSM Vie offre à l'ensemble de la clientèle du groupe ABN AMRO France
[Modified: 21 Mar 2006 - Hits: 179 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Nexx Assurance Nexx Assurance
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Assurances Auto
[Modified: 20 Jul 2000 - Hits: 187 - Votes: 0 ]
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Insurance Companies in UK

* Aviva Plc Aviva Plc
Rating on Qualisteam: 5.00
Aviva is the world's sixth-largest insurance group and the biggest in the UK. We're one of the leading providers of life and pensions products to Europe and have substantial businesses elsewhere around the world.
[Modified: 10 May 2006 - Hits: 551 - Votes: 1 ]
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* Aviva plc Aviva plc
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
St Helen's 1 Undershaft London EC3P 3DQ United Kingdom
[Modified: 23 Jun 2003 - Hits: 170 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Britannic Online Britannic Online
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
In June 2005 Britannic Group plc announced a proposed merger with Resolution Life Group Limited to form the UK’s leading closed fund consolidator - this transaction completed early in September 2005 and the newly formed group is called Resolution plc. Today the Britannic name remains prominent within Resolution plc with around three million policyholders in the Britannic Life companies.
[Modified: 10 May 2006 - Hits: 320 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Cheapest Assurance UK
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Provides life assurance for level term and whole of life policies including mortgage protection insurance and critical illness cover.
[Modified: 23 Jun 2003 - Hits: 130 - Votes: 0 ]
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* CIS - Co-operative Insurance CIS - Co-operative Insurance
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
As well as life insurance and home and motor insurances, our range includes pensions, with-profits bonds, critical illness products, unit trusts and ISAs. With The Co-operative Bank, we form Co-operative Financial Services and can also provide a wide range of innovative banking products, great rates, excellent customer service and access to your money whichever way suits you best.
[Modified: 10 May 2006 - Hits: 393 - Votes: 0 ]
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* Ecclesiastical Insurance Ecclesiastical Insurance
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00
Ecclesiastical offers a wide range of Financial Services, ranging from Endowment Plans, Investment Funds, ISAs through to pensions, protection policies and Mortgages.
[Modified: 10 May 2006 - Hits: 372 - Votes: 0 ]
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Insurance Companies in Belgium

* Actel direct Actel direct
Rating on Qualisteam: 5.00
Prix réduits en assurance RC auto ? Voyez nos prix en responsabilité civile auto et omnium Actel direct fait partie de la compagnie P&V Assurances en Belgique Prix réduits en assurance RC auto ? Voyez nos prix en responsabilité civile auto et omnium Actel direct fait partie de la compagnie P&V Assurances en Belgique www actel be
[Modified: 16 Feb 2002 - Hits: 235 - Votes: 1 ]
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* AXA Royale Belge AXA Royale Belge
Rating on Qualisteam: 3.00
AXA Bank en AXA Belgium informeren u voortaan op internet op één adres: www.axa.be
[Modified: 21 Mar 2007 - Hits: 460 - Votes: 1 ]
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* Delta Lloyd Life SA Delta Lloyd Life SA
Rating on Qualisteam: 0.00

[Modified: 21 Jun 2003 - Hits: 151 - Votes: 0 ]
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insurance policy

insurance policy
Definition

A contract of insurance, describing the term, coverage, premiums and deductibles. also called policy.


Related Terms

death benefit, accidental death benefit, cash value, cash withdrawal, coinsurance, cost-of-living rider, disability insurance, executive indemnity insurance, face amount, guaranteed insurability, hidden load, incontestability clause, indemnity, issue date, master policy, mortgage life insurance, municipal bond insurance, named peril coverage, participating insurance, policy limit, qualification period, underinsured motorist coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, underwrite, waiver of premium, accelerated benefits

Related Research Articles from the InvestorGuide.com University

Other Types of Insurance
Think you have all the bases covered? Learn about other types of insurance, including renter's, liability, travel, car rental, mortgage protection, flight, extended warranty, and kidnap and ransom.

Life Insurance
Includes all you need to know about provisions and types of life insurance policies. Learn about incontestable provisions, suicide provisions, reinstatement clauses, excluded risks, and settlement options. Once you speak the lingo, read up on the different types of life insurance: Term life, cash value, whole life, single premium life, universal life, variable life, and variable universal life.

Car Insurance
If you drive a car, you need to buy insurance. In many areas, it's mandated by law, and in any case, its worth protecting yourself against the high costs of accidents. Learn about the different policy types, liability, filing claims, and reducing your premiums in order to find the insurance policy that's right for you

Mutual insurance

Mutual insurance is a type of insurance where those protected by the insurance (policyholders) also have certain "ownership" rights in the organization. These "ownership" rights typically consist of the ability to elect the management of the organization and to participate in a distribution of any net assets or surplus should the organization cease doing business. Historically, insurance began in the USA through a mutual (or cooperative) structure. Recently, some insurance companies have gone through demutualization and become public companies in an effort, among other things, to improve their ability to acquire capital.

The global cooperative union for the industry, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, claims 142 members in 70 countries, in turn representing 400 insurers.[1]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 List of mutual insurance companies
o 1.1 Japan
o 1.2 United States
o 1.3 United Kingdom
* 2 List of demutualized insurance companies
o 2.1 Japan
o 2.2 South Africa
o 2.3 United Kingdom
o 2.4 United States
* 3 List of defunct mutual insurance companies
o 3.1 Japan
* 4 References
* 5 External links

[edit] List of mutual insurance companies

[edit] Japan

* Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company
* The Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company
* Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company
* Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company
* Nippon Life Insurance Company
* Sumitomo Life Insurance Company

[edit] United States

* American Family Insurance
* Amica
* Boston Mutual
* COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
* CUNA Mutual Life Insurance Company
* FM Global
* Guardian Life
* Illinois Mutual
* Liberty Mutual
* Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
* Mutual of America
* Mutual of Omaha
* Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
* New York Life
* North Carolina Mutual
* Northwestern Mutual Life
* Penn Mutual Life
* Physicians Mutual
* SBLI USA Mutual Life
* Security Mutual of NY
* Sentry Insurance
* Shelter Insurance
* State Farm Insurance
* Western & Southern

[edit] United Kingdom

* The Equitable Life Assurance Society
* NFU Mutual
* Royal London Mutual Insurance
* engage Mutual Assurance

[edit] List of demutualized insurance companies

[edit] Japan

* Daido Life Insurance Company
* The Kyoei Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.
* Mitsui Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
* Taiyo Life Insurance Company
* Yamato Life Insurance Company

[edit] South Africa

* Old Mutual

[edit] United Kingdom

* Friends Provident
* Scottish Widows
* Standard Life

[edit] United States

* John Hancock Mutual Life
* Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
* MONY (was Mutual of New York)
* Principal Financial Group
* Prudential Insurance

[edit] List of defunct mutual insurance companies

[edit] Japan

* Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Company
* Daihyaku Life Insurance Company
* Daiichi Mutual Fire & Marine Insurance Company
* Nissan Mutual Life Insurance Company
* Toho Mutual Life Insurance company
* Tokyo Mutual Life Insurance Company

Insurance means ?

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Financial market
participants

Investors

Speculators
speculation

Institutional investors
Insurance companies
Investment banks
Hedge funds
Mutual funds
Pension funds
Private equity funds
Venture capital funds
Banks
Credit Unions
Trusts
Prime Brokers

Finance series
Financial market
Participants
Corporate finance
Personal finance
Public finance
Banks and Banking
Financial regulation
v • d • e

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. Insurer, in economics, is the company that sells the insurance. Insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Principles of insurance
* 2 Indemnification
* 3 When is a policy really insurance?
o 3.1 Does the contract contain adequate risk transfer?
o 3.2 Is there a brightline test?
o 3.3 "Safe harbor" exemptions
o 3.4 Risk limiting features
* 4 Insurer’s business model
* 5 Gambling analogy
* 6 History of insurance
* 7 Types of insurance
* 8 Types of insurance companies
* 9 Life insurance and saving
* 10 Size of global insurance industry
* 11 Financial viability of insurance companies
* 12 Controversies
o 12.1 Insurance insulates too much
o 12.2 Closed community self-insurance
o 12.3 Complexity of insurance policy contracts
o 12.4 Redlining
o 12.5 Health insurance
o 12.6 Dental insurance
o 12.7 Insurance patents
o 12.8 The insurance industry and rent seeking
o 12.9 Criticism of insurance companies
* 13 Glossary
* 14 References
* 15 See also
o 15.1 Lists
* 16 External links

[edit] Principles of insurance

Commercially insurable risks typically share seven common characteristics.[1]

1. A large number of homogeneous exposure units. The vast majority of insurance policies are provided for individual members of very large classes. Automobile insurance, for example, covered about 175 million automobiles in the United States in 2004.[2] The existence of a large number of homogeneous exposure units allows insurers to benefit from the so-called “law of large numbers,” which in effect states that as the number of exposure units increases, the actual results are increasingly likely to become close to expected results. There are exceptions to this criterion. Lloyd's of London is famous for insuring the life or health of actors, actresses and sports figures. Satellite Launch insurance covers events that are infrequent. Large commercial property policies may insure exceptional properties for which there are no ‘homogeneous’ exposure units. Despite failing on this criterion, many exposures like these are generally considered to be insurable.
2. Definite Loss. The event that gives rise to the loss that is subject to insurance should, at least in principle, take place at a known time, in a known place, and from a known cause. The classic example is death of an insured on a life insurance policy. Fire, automobile accidents, and worker injuries may all easily meet this criterion. Other types of losses may only be definite in theory. Occupational disease, for instance, may involve prolonged exposure to injurious conditions where no specific time, place or cause is identifiable. Ideally, the time, place and cause of a loss should be clear enough that a reasonable person, with sufficient information, could objectively verify all three elements.
3. Accidental Loss. The event that constitutes the trigger of a claim should be fortuitous, or at least outside the control of the beneficiary of the insurance. The loss should be ‘pure,’ in the sense that it results from an event for which there is only the opportunity for cost. Events that contain speculative elements, such as ordinary business risks, are generally not considered insurable.
4. Large Loss. The size of the loss must be meaningful from the perspective of the insured. Insurance premiums need to cover both the expected cost of losses, plus the cost of issuing and administering the policy, adjusting losses, and supplying the capital needed to reasonably assure that the insurer will be able to pay claims. For small losses these latter costs may be several times the size of the expected cost of losses. There is little point in paying such costs unless the protection offered has real value to a buyer.
5. Affordable Premium. If the likelihood of an insured event is so high, or the cost of the event so large, that the resulting premium is large relative to the amount of protection offered, it is not likely that anyone will buy insurance, even if on offer. Further, as the accounting profession formally recognizes in financial accounting standards (See FAS 113 for example), the premium cannot be so large that there is not a reasonable chance of a significant loss to the insurer. If there is no such chance of loss, the transaction may have the form of insurance, but not the substance.
6. Calculable Loss. There are two elements that must be at least estimable, if not formally calculable: the probability of loss, and the attendant cost. Probability of loss is generally an empirical exercise, while cost has more to do with the ability of a reasonable person in possession of a copy of the insurance policy and a proof of loss associated with a claim presented under that policy to make a reasonably definite and objective evaluation of the amount of the loss recoverable as a result of the claim.
7. Limited risk of catastrophically large losses. The essential risk is often aggregation. If the same event can cause losses to numerous policyholders of the same insurer, the ability of that insurer to issue policies becomes constrained, not by factors surrounding the individual characteristics of a given policyholder, but by the factors surrounding the sum of all policyholders so exposed. Typically, insurers prefer to limit their exposure to a loss from a single event to some small portion of their capital base, on the order of 5 percent. Where the loss can be aggregated, or an individual policy could produce exceptionally large claims, the capital constraint will restrict an insurers appetite for additional policyholders. The classic example is earthquake insurance, where the ability of an underwriter to issue a new policy depends on the number and size of the policies that it has already underwritten. Wind insurance in hurricane zones, particularly along coast lines, is another example of this phenomenon. In extreme cases, the aggregation can affect the entire industry, since the combined capital of insurers and reinsurers can be small compared to the needs of potential policyholders in areas exposed to aggregation risk. In commercial fire insurance it is possible to find single properties whose total exposed value is well in excess of any individual insurer’s capital constraint. Such properties are generally shared among several insurers, or are insured by a single insurer who syndicates the risk into the reinsurance market.

[edit] Indemnification

The technical definition of "indemnity" means to make whole again. There are two types of insurance contracts; 1) an "indemnity" policy and 2) a "pay on behalf" or "on behalf of"[3] policy. The difference is significant on paper, but rarely material in practice.

An "indemnity" policy will not pay claims until the insured has paid out of pocket to some third party; i.e. a visitor to your home slips on a floor that you left wet and sues you for $10,000 and wins. Under an "indemnity" policy the homeowner would have to come up with the $10,000 to pay for the visitors fall and then would be "indemnified" by the insurance carrier for the out of pocket costs (the $10,000)[4].

Under the same situation, a "pay on behalf" policy, the insurance carrier would pay the claim and the insured (the homeowner) would not be out of pocket anything. Most modern liability insurance is written on the basis of "pay on behalf" language[5].

An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the 'insured' party once risk is assumed by an 'insurer', the insuring party, by means of a contract, called an insurance 'policy'. Generally, an insurance contract includes, at a minimum, the following elements: the parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be "indemnified" against the loss events covered in the policy.

When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a 'claim' against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the 'premium'. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims—in theory for a relatively few claimants—and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (i.e., reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit.

[edit] When is a policy really insurance?
“ Insurance provides indemnification against loss or liability from specified events and circumstances that may occur or be discovered during a specified period. ”

— FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 113, "Accounting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration Contracts" December 1992

An operational definition of insurance is that it is

* the benefit provided by a particular kind of indemnity contract, called an insurance policy;
* that is issued by one of several kinds of legal entities (stock insurance company, mutual insurance company, reciprocal, or Lloyd's syndicate, for example), any of which may be called an insurer;
* in which the insurer promises to pay on behalf of or to indemnify another party, called a policyholder or insured;
* that protects the insured against loss caused by those perils subject to the indemnity in exchange for consideration known as an insurance premium.

In recent years this kind of operational definition proved inadequate as a result of contracts that had the form but not the substance of insurance. The essence of insurance is the transfer of risk from the insured to one or more insurers. How much risk a contract actually transfers proved to be at the heart of the controversy.

This issue arose most clearly in reinsurance, where the use of Financial Reinsurance to reengineer insurer balance sheets under US GAAP became fashionable during the 1980s. The accounting profession raised serious concerns about the use of reinsurance in which little if any actual risk was transferred, and went on to address the issue in FAS 113, cited above. While on its face, FAS 113 is limited to accounting for reinsurance transactions, the guidance it contains is generally conceded to be equally applicable to US GAAP accounting for insurance transactions executed by commercial enterprises.

[edit] Does the contract contain adequate risk transfer?

FAS 113 contains two tests, called the '9a and 9b tests,' that collectively require that a contract create a reasonable chance of a significant loss to the underwriter for it to be considered insurance.

9. Indemnification of the ceding enterprise against loss or liability relating to insurance risk in reinsurance of short-duration contracts requires both of the following, unless the condition in paragraph 11 is met:

a. The reinsurer assumes significant insurance risk under the reinsured portions of the underlying insurance contracts.

b. It is reasonably possible that the reinsurer may realize a significant loss from the transaction.

Paragraph 10 of FAS 113 makes clear that the 9a and 9b tests are based on comparing the present value of all costs to the PV of all income streams. FAS gives no guidance on the choice of a discount rate on which to base such a calculation, other than to say that all outcomes tested should use the same rate.

Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles ("SSAP") 62, issued by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, applies to so-called 'statutory accounting' - the accounting for insurance enterprises to conform with regulation. Paragraph 12 of SSAP 62 is nearly identical to the FAS 113 test, while paragraph 14, which is otherwise very similar to paragraph 10 of FAS 113, additionally contains a justification for the use of a single fixed rate for discounting purposes. The choice of an "reasonable and appropriate" discount rate is left as a matter of judgment.

[edit] Is there a brightline test?

Neither FAS 113 nor SAP 62 defines the terms reasonable or significant. Ideally, one would like to be able to substitute values for both terms. It would be much simpler if one could apply a test of an X percent chance of a loss of Y percent or greater. Such tests have been proposed, including one famously attributed to an SEC official who is said to have opined in an after lunch talk that a 10 percent chance of a 10 percent loss was sufficient to establish both reasonableness and significance. Indeed, many insurers and reinsurers still apply this 10/10" test as a benchmark for risk transfer testing.

It should be obvious that an attempt to use any numerical rule such as the 10/10 test will quickly run into problems. Implicit in the test is keeping the 10/10 that either are upper bonds for the comment made by the SEC official therefore, the rest of this paragraph doesn't apply. Suppose a contract has a 1 percent chance of a 10,000 percent loss? It should be reasonably self-evident that such a contract is insurance, but it fails one half of the 10/10 test.

It does not appear that any brightline test of reasonableness nor significance can be constructed.

Excess of loss contracts, like those commonly used for umbrella and general liability insurance, or to insure against property losses, will typically have a low ratio of premium paid to maximum loss recoverable. This ratio (expressed as a percentage), commonly called the rate on line for historical reasons related to underwriting practices at Lloyd's of London, will typically be low for contracts that contain reasonably self-evident risk transfer. As the ratio increases to approximate the present value of the limit of coverage, self-evidence decreases and disappears.

Contracts with low rates on line may survive modest features that limit the amount of risk transferred. As rates on line increase, such risk limiting features become increasingly important.

[edit] "Safe harbor" exemptions

The analysis of reasonableness and significance is an estimate of the probability of different gain or loss outcomes under different loss scenarios. It takes time and resources to perform the analysis, which constitutes a burden without value where risk transfer is reasonably self-evident.

Guidance exists for insurers and reinsurers, whose CEO's and CFO's attest annually as to the reinsurance agreements their firms undertake. The American Academy of Actuaries, for instance, identifies three categories of contract as outside the requirement of attestation:

* Inactive contracts. If there are no premiums due nor losses payable, and the insurer is not taking any credit for the reinsurance, determining risk transfer is irrelevant.
* Pre-1994 contracts. The attestation requirement only applies to contracts that were entered into, renewed or amended on or after 1 January 1994. Prior contracts need not be analyzed.
* Where risk transfer is "reasonably self-evident."

“ Risk transfer is reasonably self-evident in most traditional per-risk or per-occurrence excess of loss reinsurance contracts. For these contracts, a predetermined amount of premium is paid and the reinsurer assumes nearly all or all of the potential variability in the underlying losses, and it is evident from reading the basic terms of the contract that the reinsurer can incur a significant loss. In many cases, there is no aggregate limit on the reinsurer's loss. The existence of certain experience-based contract terms, such as experience accounts, profit commissions, and additional premiums, generally reduce the amount of risk transfer and make it less likely that risk transfer is reasonably self-evident. ”

— "Reinsurance Attestation Supplement 20-1: Risk Transfer Testing Practice Note,"
American Academy of Actuaries, November 2005.

[edit] Risk limiting features

An insurance policy should not contain provisions that allow one side or the other to unilaterally void the contract in exchange for benefit. Provisions that void the contract for failure to perform or for fraud or material misrepresentation are ordinary and acceptable.

The policy should have a term of not more than about three years. This is not a hard and fast rule. Contracts of over five years duration are classified as ‘long-term,’ which can impact the accounting treatment, and can obviously introduce the possibility that over the entire term of the contract, no actual risk will transfer. The coverage provided by the contract need not cease at the end of the term (e.g., the contract can cover occurrences as opposed to claims made or claims paid).

The contract should be considered to include any other agreements, written or oral, that confer rights, create obligations, or create benefits on the part of either or both parties. Ideally, the contract should contain an ‘Entire Agreement’ clause that assures there are no undisclosed written or oral side agreements that confer rights, create obligations, or create benefits on the part of either or both parties. If such rights, obligations or benefits exist, they must be factored into the tests of reasonableness and significance.

The contract should not contain arbitrary limitations on timing of payments. Provisions that assure both parties of time to properly present and consider claims are acceptable provided they are commercially reasonable and customary.

Provisions that expressly create actual or notional accounts that accrue actual or notional interest suggest that the contract contains, in fact, a deposit.

Provisions for additional or return premium do not, in and of themselves, render a contract something other than insurance. However, it should be unlikely that either a return or additional premium provision be triggered, and neither party should have discretion regarding the timing of such triggering.

All of the events that would give rise to claims under the contract cannot have materialized prior to the inception of the contract. If this "all events" test is not met, then the contract is considered to be a retroactive contract, for which the accounting treatment becomes complex.

[edit] Insurer’s business model

Profit = earned premium + investment income - incurred loss - underwriting expenses.

Insurers make money in two ways: (1) through underwriting, the process by which insurers select the risks to insure and decide how much in premiums to charge for accepting those risks and (2) by investing the premiums they collect from insureds.

The most difficult aspect of the insurance business is the underwriting of policies. Using a wide assortment of data, insurers predict the likelihood that a claim will be made against their policies and price products accordingly. To this end, insurers use actuarial science to quantify the risks they are willing to assume and the premium they will charge to assume them. Data is analyzed to fairly accurately project the rate of future claims based on a given risk. Actuarial science uses statistics and probability to analyze the risks associated with the range of perils covered, and these scientific principles are used to determine an insurer's overall exposure. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected and the investment gains thereon minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. Of course, from the insurer's perspective, some policies are winners (i.e., the insurer pays out less in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income) and some are losers (i.e., the insurer pays out more in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income).

An insurer's underwriting performance is measured in its combined ratio. The loss ratio (incurred losses and loss-adjustment expenses divided by net earned premium) is added to the expense ratio (underwriting expenses divided by net premium written) to determine the company's combined ratio. The combined ratio is a reflection of the company's overall underwriting profitability. A combined ratio of less than 100 percent indicates profitability, while anything over 100 indicates a loss.

Insurance companies also earn investment profits on “float”. “Float” or available reserve is the amount of money, at hand at any given moment, that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not been paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest on them until claims are paid out.

In the United States, the underwriting loss of property and casualty insurance companies was $142.3 billion in the five years ending 2003. But overall profit for the same period was $68.4 billion, as the result of float. Some insurance industry insiders, most notably Hank Greenberg, do not believe that it is forever possible to sustain a profit from float without an underwriting profit as well, but this opinion is not universally held. Naturally, the “float” method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards. So a poor economy generally means high insurance premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the "underwriting" or insurance cycle. [6]

Property and casualty insurers currently make the most money from their auto insurance line of business. Generally better statistics are available on auto losses and underwriting on this line of business has benefited greatly from advances in computing. Additionally, property losses in the US, due to natural catastrophes, have exacerbated this trend.

Finally, claims and loss handling is the materialized utility of insurance. In managing the claims-handling function, insurers seek to balance the elements of customer satisfaction, administrative handling expenses, and claims overpayment leakages. As part of this balancing act, fraudulent insurance practices are a major business risk that must be managed and overcome.

[edit] Gambling analogy

Both gambling and insurance transfer risk and reward.

Gambling transactions offer the possibility of either a loss or a gain. Gambling creates losers and winners. Insurance transactions do not present the possibility of gain. Insurance offers financial support sufficient to replace loss, not to create pure gain.

Gamblers can continue spending, buying more risk than they can afford to pay for. Insurance buyers can only spend up to the limit of what carriers would accept to insure; their loss is limited to the amount of the premium.

Gamblers, by creating new risk transfer, are risk seekers. Insurance buyers are risk avoiders, creating risk transfer in terms of their need to reduce exposure to large losses.

Gambling or gaming is designed at the start so that the odds are not affected by the players' conduct or behavior and not required to conduct risk mitigation practices. But players can prepare and increase their odds of winning in certain games such as poker or blackjack. In contrast to gambling or gaming, to obtain certain types of insurance, such as fire insurance, policyholders can be required to conduct risk mitigation practices, such as installing sprinklers and using fireproof building materials to reduce the odds of loss to fire. In addition, after a proven loss, insurers specialize in providing rehabilitation to minimize the total loss.

Insurance, the avoiding, mitigating and transferring of risk, creates greater predictability for individuals and organizations.

[edit] History of insurance

In some sense we can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. Should the same thing happen to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. This type of insurance has survived to the present day in some countries where modern money economy with its financial instruments is not widespread (for example countries in the territory of the former Soviet Union).

Turning to insurance in the modern sense (i.e., insurance in a modern money economy, in which insurance is part of the financial sphere), early methods of transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively. Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel's capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC, and practiced by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the lender's guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen.

Achaemenian monarchs were the first to insure their people and made it official by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. The insurance tradition was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year); the heads of different ethnic groups as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.

The purpose of registering was that whenever the person who presented the gift registered by the court was in trouble, the monarch and the court would help him. Jahez, a historian and writer, writes in one of his books on ancient Iran: "[W]henever the owner of the present is in trouble or wants to construct a building, set up a feast, have his children married, etc. the one in charge of this in the court would check the registration. If the registered amount exceeded 10,000 Derrik, he or she would receive an amount of twice as much."[1]

A thousand years later, the inhabitants of Rhodes invented the concept of the 'general average'. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage.

The Greeks and Romans introduced the origins of health and life insurance c. 600 AD when they organized guilds called "benevolent societies" which cared for the families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the Middle Ages served a similar purpose. The Talmud deals with several aspects of insuring goods. Before insurance was established in the late 17th century, "friendly societies" existed in England, in which people donated amounts of money to a general sum that could be used for emergencies.

Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, a separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance. Insurance became far more sophisticated in post-Renaissance Europe, and specialized varieties developed.

Toward the end of the seventeenth century, London's growing importance as a centre for trade increased demand for marine insurance. In the late 1680s, Mr. Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house that became a popular haunt of ship owners, merchants, and ships’ captains, and thereby a reliable source of the latest shipping news. It became the meeting place for parties wishing to insure cargoes and ships, and those willing to underwrite such ventures. Today, Lloyd's of London remains the leading market (note that it is not an insurance company) for marine and other specialist types of insurance, but it works rather differently than the more familiar kinds of insurance.

Insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, which in 1666 devoured 13,200 houses. In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England's first fire insurance company, "The Fire Office," to insure brick and frame homes.

The first insurance company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732.

Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize and make standard the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin's company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. Not only did his company warn against certain fire hazards, it refused to insure certain buildings where the risk of fire was too great, such as all wooden houses.

In the United States, regulation of the insurance industry is highly Balkanized, with primary responsibility assumed by individual state insurance departments. Whereas insurance markets have become centralized nationally and internationally, state insurance commissioners operate individually, though at times in concert through a national insurance commissioners' organization. In recent years, some have called for a dual state and federal regulatory system for insurance similar to that which oversees state banks and national banks.

In the state of New York, which has unique laws in keeping with its stature as a global business centre, former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was in a unique position to grapple with major national insurance brokerages. Spitzer alleged that Marsh & McLennan steered business to insurance carriers based on the amount of contingent commissions that could be extracted from carriers, rather than basing decisions on whether carriers had the best deals for clients. Several of the largest commercial insurance brokerages have since stopped accepting contingent commissions and have adopted new business models.

[edit] Types of insurance

Any risk that can be quantified can potentially be insured. Specific kinds of risk that may give rise to claims are known as "perils". An insurance policy will set out in detail which perils are covered by the policy and which are not.

Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of the many different types of insurance that exist. A single policy may cover risks in one or more of the categories set forth below. For example, auto insurance would typically cover both property risk (covering the risk of theft or damage to the car) and liability risk (covering legal claims from causing an accident). A homeowner's insurance policy in the U.S. typically includes property insurance covering damage to the home and the owner's belongings, liability insurance covering certain legal claims against the owner, and even a small amount of health insurance for medical expenses of guests who are injured on the owner's property.

* Automobile insurance, known in the UK as motor insurance, is probably the most common form of insurance and may cover both legal liability claims against the driver and loss of or damage to the insured's vehicle itself. Throughout most of the United States an auto insurance policy is required to legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. In some jurisdictions, bodily injury compensation for automobile accident victims has been changed to a no-fault system, which reduces or eliminates the ability to sue for compensation but provides automatic eligibility for benefits. Credit card companies insure against damage on rented cars.
* Aviation insurance insures against hull, spares, deductible, hull war and liability risks.
* Boiler insurance (also known as boiler and machinery insurance or equipment breakdown insurance) insures against accidental physical damage to equipment or machinery.
* Builder's risk insurance insures against the risk of physical loss or damage to property during construction. Builder's risk insurance is typically written on an "all risk" basis covering damage due to any cause (including the negligence of the insured) not otherwise expressly excluded.
* Business insurance can be any kind of insurance that protects businesses against risks. Some principal subtypes of business insurance are (a) the various kinds of professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance, which are discussed below under that name; and (b) the business owners policy (BOP), which bundles into one policy many of the kinds of coverage that a business owner needs, in a way analogous to how homeowners insurance bundles the coverages that a homeowner needs.[7]
* Casualty insurance insures against accidents, not necessarily tied to any specific property.
* Credit insurance repays some or all of a loan back when certain things happen to the borrower such as unemployment, disability, or death. Mortgage insurance (which see below) is a form of credit insurance, although the name credit insurance more often is used to refer to policies that cover other kinds of debt.
* Crime insurance insures the policyholder against losses arising from the criminal acts of third parties. For example, a company can obtain crime insurance to cover losses arising from theft or embezzlement.
* Crop insurance "Farmers use crop insurance to reduce or manage various risks associated with growing crops. Such risks include crop loss or damage caused by weather, hail, drought, frost damage, insects, or disease, for instance."[8]
* Defense Base Act Workers' compensation or DBA Insurance insurance provides coverage for civilian workers hired by the government to perform contracts outside the US and Canada. DBA is required for all US citizens, US residents, US Green Card holders, and all employees or subcontractors hired on overseas government contracts. Depending on the country, Foreign Nationals must also be covered under DBA. This coverage typically includes expenses related to medical treatment and loss of wages, as well as disability and death benefits.
* Directors and officers liability insurance protects an organization (usually a corporation) from costs associated with litigation resulting from mistakes incurred by directors and officers for which they are liable. In the industry, it is usually called "D&O" for short.
* Disability insurance policies provide financial support in the event the policyholder is unable to work because of disabling illness or injury. It provides monthly support to help pay such obligations as mortgages and credit cards.
o Total permanent disability insurance insurance provides benefits when a person is permanently disabled and can no longer work in their profession, often taken as an adjunct to life insurance.
* Errors and omissions insurance: See "Professional liability insurance" under "Liability insurance".
* Expatriate insurance provides individuals and organizations operating outside of their home country with protection for automobiles, property, health, liability and business pursuits.
* Financial loss insurance protects individuals and companies against various financial risks. For example, a business might purchase cover to protect it from loss of sales if a fire in a factory prevented it from carrying out its business for a time. Insurance might also cover the failure of a creditor to pay money it owes to the insured. This type of insurance is frequently referred to as "business interruption insurance." Fidelity bonds and surety bonds are included in this category, although these products provide a benefit to a third party (the "obligee") in the event the insured party (usually referred to as the "obligor") fails to perform its obligations under a contract with the obligee.
* Fire insurance: See "Property insurance".
* Hazard insurance: See "Property insurance".
* Health insurance policies will often cover the cost of private medical treatments if the National Health Service in the UK (NHS) or other publicly-funded health programs do not pay for them. It will often result in quicker health care where better facilities are available.
* Kidnap and ransom insurance
* Home insurance or homeowners insurance: See "Property insurance".
* Liability insurance is a very broad superset that covers legal claims against the insured. Many types of insurance include an aspect of liability coverage. For example, a homeowner's insurance policy will normally include liability coverage which protects the insured in the event of a claim brought by someone who slips and falls on the property; automobile insurance also includes an aspect of liability insurance that indemnifies against the harm that a crashing car can cause to others' lives, health, or property. The protection offered by a liability insurance policy is twofold: a legal defense in the event of a lawsuit commenced against the policyholder and indemnification (payment on behalf of the insured) with respect to a settlement or court verdict. Liability policies typically cover only the negligence of the insured, and will not apply to results of willful or intentional acts by the insured.
o Environmental liability insurance protects the insured from bodily injury, property damage and cleanup costs as a result of the dispersal, release or escape of pollutants.
o Professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance, protects professional practitioners such as architects, lawyers, doctors, and accountants against potential negligence claims made by their patients/clients. Professional liability insurance may take on different names depending on the profession. For example, professional liability insurance in reference to the medical profession may be called malpractice insurance. Notaries public may take out errors and omissions insurance (E&O). Other potential E&O policyholders include, for example, real estate brokers, home inspectors, appraisers, and website developers.
* Life insurance provides a monetary benefit to a decedent's family or other designated beneficiary, and may specifically provide for income to an insured person's family, burial, funeral and other final expenses. Life insurance policies often allow the option of having the proceeds paid to the beneficiary either in a lump sum cash payment or an annuity.
o Annuities provide a stream of payments and are generally classified as insurance because they are issued by insurance companies and regulated as insurance and require the same kinds of actuarial and investment management expertise that life insurance requires. Annuities and pensions that pay a benefit for life are sometimes regarded as insurance against the possibility that a retiree will outlive his or her financial resources. In that sense, they are the complement of life insurance and, from an underwriting perspective, are the mirror image of life insurance.
* Locked funds insurance is a little-known hybrid insurance policy jointly issued by governments and banks. It is used to protect public funds from tamper by unauthorized parties. In special cases, a government may authorize its use in protecting semi-private funds which are liable to tamper. The terms of this type of insurance are usually very strict. Therefore it is used only in extreme cases where maximum security of funds is required.
* Marine insurance and marine cargo insurance cover the loss or damage of ships at sea or on inland waterways, and of the cargo that may be on them. When the owner of the cargo and the carrier are separate corporations, marine cargo insurance typically compensates the owner of cargo for losses sustained from fire, shipwreck, etc., but excludes losses that can be recovered from the carrier or the carrier's insurance. Many marine insurance underwriters will include "time element" coverage in such policies, which extends the indemnity to cover loss of profit and other business expenses attributable to the delay caused by a covered loss.
* Mortgage insurance insures the lender against default by the borrower.
* National Insurance is the UK's version of social insurance (which see below).
* No-fault insurance is a type of insurance policy (typically automobile insurance) where insureds are indemnified by their own insurer regardless of fault in the incident.
* Nuclear incident insurance covers damages resulting from an incident involving radioactive materials and is generally arranged at the national level. (For the United States, see the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act.)
* Pet insurance insures pets against accidents and illnesses - some companies cover routine/wellness care and burial, as well.
* Political risk insurance can be taken out by businesses with operations in countries in which there is a risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss.
* Pollution Insurance. A first-party coverage for contamination of insured property either by external or on-site sources. Coverage for liability to third parties arising from contamination of air, water, or land due to the sudden and accidental release of hazardous materials from the insured site. The policy usually covers the costs of cleanup and may include coverage for releases from underground storage tanks. Intentional acts are specifically excluded
* Prize indemnity insurance protects the insured from giving away a large prize at a specific event. Examples would include offering prizes to contestants who can make a half-court shot at a basketball game, or a hole-in-one at a golf tournament.
* Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, inland marine insurance or boiler insurance.
* Protected Self-Insurance is an alternative risk financing mechanism in which an organisation retains the mathematically calculated cost of risk within the organisation and transfers the catastrophic risk with specific and aggregate limits to an Insurer so the maximum total cost of the program is known. A properly designed and underwritten Protected Self-Insurance Program reduces and stabilizes the cost of insurance and provides valuable risk management information.
* Purchase insurance is aimed at providing protection on the products people purchase. Purchase insurance can cover individual purchase protection, warranties, guarantees, care plans and even mobile phone insurance. Such insurance is normally very limited in the scope of problems that are covered by the policy.
* Retrospectively Rated Insurance is a method of establishing a premium on large commercial accounts. The final premium is based on the insured's actual loss experience during the policy term, sometimes subject to a minimum and maximum premium, with the final premium determined by a formula. Under this plan, the current year's premium is based partially (or wholly) on the current year's losses, although the premium adjustments may take months or years beyond the current year's expiration date. The rating formula is guaranteed in the insurance contract. Formula: retrospective premium = converted loss + basic premium × tax multiplier. Numerous variations of this formula have been developed and are in use.
* Formal Self Insurance is the deliberate decision to pay for otherwise insurable losses out of one's own money. This can be done on a formal basis by establishing a separate fund into which funds are deposited on a periodic basis, or by simply forgoing the purchase of available insurance and paying out-of-pocket. Self insurance is ususally used to pay for high-frequency, low-severity losses. Such losses, if covered by conventional insurance, mean having to pay a premium that includes loadings for the company's general expenses, cost of putting the policy on the books, acquisition expenses, premium taxes, and contingencies. While this is true for all insurance, for small, frequent losses the transaction costs may exceed the benefit of volatility reduction that insurance otherwise affords.
* Social insurance can be many things to many people in many countries. But a summary of its essence is that it is a collection of insurance coverages (including components of life insurance, disability income insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and others), plus retirement savings, that mandates participation by all citizens. By forcing everyone in society to be a policyholder and pay premiums, it ensures that everyone can become a claimant when or if he/she needs to. Along the way this inevitably becomes related to other concepts such as the justice system and the welfare state. This is a large, complicated topic that engenders tremendous debate, which can be further studied in the following articles (and others):
o Social welfare provision
o Social security
o Social safety net
o National Insurance
o Social Security (United States)
o Social Security debate (United States)
* Stop-loss insurance provides protection against catastrophic or unpredictable losses. It is purchased by organisations who do not want to assume 100% of the liability for losses arising from the plans. Under a stop-loss policy, the insurance company becomes liable for losses that exceed certain limits called deductibles.
* Surety Bond insurance is a three party insurance guaranteeing the performance of the principal.
* Terrorism insurance provides protection against any loss or damage caused by terrorist activities.
* Title insurance provides a guarantee that title to real property is vested in the purchaser and/or mortgagee, free and clear of liens or encumbrances. It is usually issued in conjunction with a search of the public records performed at the time of a real estate transaction.
* Travel insurance is an insurance cover taken by those who travel abroad, which covers certain losses such as medical expenses, lost of personal belongings, travel delay, personal liabilities, etc.
* Volcano insurance is an insurance that covers volcano damage in Hawaii.
* Workers' compensation insurance replaces all or part of a worker's wages lost and accompanying medical expense incurred because of a job-related injury.

[edit] Types of insurance companies

Insurance companies may be classified as

* Life insurance companies, which sell life insurance, annuities and pensions products.
* Non-life or general insurance companies, which sell other types of insurance.

General insurance companies can be further divided into these sub categories.

* Standard Lines
* Excess Lines

In most countries, life and non-life insurers are subject to different regulatory regimes and different tax and accounting rules. The main reason for the distinction between the two types of company is that life, annuity, and pension business is very long-term in nature — coverage for life assurance or a pension can cover risks over many decades. By contrast, non-life insurance cover usually covers a shorter period, such as one year.

In the United States, standard line insurance companies are your "main stream" insurers. These are the companies that typically insure your auto, home or business. They use pattern or "cookie-cutter" policies without variation from one person to the next. They usually have lower premiums than excess lines and can sell directly to individuals. They are regulated by state laws that can restrict the amount they can charge for insurance policies.

Excess line insurance companies (aka Excess and Surplus) typically insure risks not covered by the standard lines market. They are broadly referred as being all insurance placed with non-admitted insurers. Non-admitted insurers are not licensed in the states where the risks are located. These companies have more flexibility and can react faster than standard insurance companies because they don't have the same regulations as standard insurance companies. State laws generally require insurance placed with surplus line agents and brokers to not be available through standard licensed insurers.

Insurance companies are generally classified as either mutual or stock companies. This is more of a traditional distinction as true mutual companies are becoming rare. Mutual companies are owned by the policyholders, while stockholders (who may or may not own policies) own stock insurance companies. Other possible forms for an insurance company include reciprocals, in which policyholders 'reciprocate' in sharing risks, and Lloyds organizations.

Insurance companies are rated by various agencies such as A. M. Best. The ratings include the company's financial strength, which measures its ability to pay claims. It also rates financial instruments issued by the insurance company, such as bonds, notes, and securitization products.

Reinsurance companies are insurance companies that sell policies to other insurance companies, allowing them to reduce their risks and protect themselves from very large losses. The reinsurance market is dominated by a few very large companies, with huge reserves. A reinsurer may also be a direct writer of insurance risks as well.

Captive insurance companies may be defined as limited-purpose insurance companies established with the specific objective of financing risks emanating from their parent group or groups. This definition can sometimes be extended to include some of the risks of the parent company's customers. In short, it is an in-house self-insurance vehicle. Captives may take the form of a "pure" entity (which is a 100 percent subsidiary of the self-insured parent company); of a "mutual" captive (which insures the collective risks of members of an industry); and of an "association" captive (which self-insures individual risks of the members of a professional, commercial or industrial association). Captives represent commercial, economic and tax advantages to their sponsors because of the reductions in costs they help create and for the ease of insurance risk management and the flexibility for cash flows they generate. Additionally, they may provide coverage of risks which is neither available nor offered in the traditional insurance market at reasonable prices.

The types of risk that a captive can underwrite for their parents include property damage, public and products liability, professional indemnity, employee benefits, employers liability, motor and medical aid expenses. The captive's exposure to such risks may be limited by the use of reinsurance.

Captives are becoming an increasingly important component of the risk management and risk financing strategy of their parent. This can be understood against the following background:

* heavy and increasing premium costs in almost every line of coverage;
* difficulties in insuring certain types of fortuitous risk;
* differential coverage standards in various parts of the world;
* rating structures which reflect market trends rather than individual loss experience;
* insufficient credit for deductibles and/or loss control efforts.

There are also companies known as 'insurance consultants'. Like a mortgage broker, these companies are paid a fee by the customer to shop around for the best insurance policy amongst many companies .

Similar to an insurance consultant, an 'insurance broker' also shops around for the best insurance policy amongst many companies. However, with insurance brokers, the fee is usually paid in the form of commission from the insurer that is selected rather than directly from the client.

Neither insurance consultants nor insurance brokers are insurance companies and no risks are transferred to them in insurance transactions.

Third party administrators are companies that perform underwriting and sometimes claims handling services for insurance companies. These companies often have special expertise that the insurance companies do not have.

[edit] Life insurance and saving

Certain life insurance contracts accumulate cash values, which may be taken by the insured if the policy is surrendered or which may be borrowed against. Some policies, such as annuities and endowment policies, are financial instruments to accumulate or liquidate wealth when it is needed. See life insurance.

In many countries, such as the U.S. and the UK, the tax law provides that the interest on this cash value is not taxable under certain circumstances. This leads to widespread use of life insurance as a tax-efficient method of saving as well as protection in the event of early death.

In U.S., the tax on interest income on life insurance policies and annuities is generally deferred. However, in some cases the benefit derived from tax deferral may be offset by a low return. This depends upon the insuring company, the type of policy and other variables (mortality, market return, etc.). Moreover, other income tax saving vehicles (e.g., IRAs, 401(k) plans, Roth IRAs) may be better alternatives for value accumulation. A combination of low-cost term life insurance and a higher-return tax-efficient retirement account may achieve better investment return.

[edit] Size of global insurance industry
Life insurance premia written in 2005
Life insurance premia written in 2005
Non-life insurance premia written in 2005
Non-life insurance premia written in 2005

Global insurance premiums grew by 9.7 percent in 2004 to reach $3.3 trillion. This follows 11.7 percent growth in the previous year. Life insurance premiums grew by 9.8 percent during the year, thanks to rising demand for annuity and pension products. Non-life insurance premiums grew by 9.4 percent, as premium rates increased. Over the past decade, global insurance premiums rose by more than a half as annual growth fluctuated between 2 percent and 10 percent. [citation needed]

Advanced economies account for the bulk of global insurance. With premium income of $1,217 billion in 2004, North America was the most important region, followed by the EU (at $1,198 billion) and Japan (at $492 billion). The top four countries accounted for nearly two-thirds of premiums in 2004. The United States and Japan alone accounted for a half of world insurance premiums, much higher than their 7 percent share of the global population. Emerging markets accounted for over 85 percent of the world’s population but generated only 10 percent of premiums. The volume of UK insurance business totaled $295 billion in 2004 or 9.1 percent of global premiums. [2]

[edit] Financial viability of insurance companies

Financial stability and strength of an insurance company should be a major consideration when purchasing an insurance contract. An insurance premium paid currently provides coverage for losses that might arise many years in the future. For that reason, the viability of the insurance carrier is very important. In recent years, a number of insurance companies have become insolvent, leaving their policyholders with no coverage (or coverage only from a government-backed insurance pool or other arrangement with less attractive payouts for losses). A number of independent rating agencies, such as Best's, Fitch, Standard & Poor's, and Moody's Investors Service, provide information and rate the financial viability of insurance companies.

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Insurance insulates too much

By creating a "security blanket" for its insureds, an insurance company may inadvertently find that its insureds may not be as risk-averse as they might otherwise be (since, by definition, the insured has transferred the risk to the insurer). This problem is known to the insurance industry as moral hazard. To reduce their own financial exposure, insurance companies have contractual clauses that mitigate their obligation to provide coverage if the insured engages in behavior that grossly magnifies their risk of loss or liability.

For example, life insurance companies may require higher premiums or deny coverage altogether to people who work in hazardous occupations or engage in dangerous sports. Liability insurance providers do not provide coverage for liability arising from intentional torts committed by the insured. Even if a provider were so irrational as to desire to provide such coverage, it is against the public policy of most countries to allow such insurance to exist, and thus it is usually illegal.

[edit] Closed community self-insurance

Some communities prefer to create virtual insurance amongst themselves by other means than contractual risk transfer, which assigns explicit numerical values to risk. A number of religious groups, including the Amish and some Muslim groups, depend on support provided by their communities when disasters strike. The risk presented by any given person is assumed collectively by the community who all bear the cost of rebuilding lost property and supporting people whose needs are suddenly greater after a loss of some kind. In supportive communities where others can be trusted to follow community leaders, this tacit form of insurance can work. In this manner the community can even out the extreme differences in insurability that exist among its members. Some further justification is also provided by invoking the moral hazard of explicit insurance contracts.

In the United Kingdom The Crown (which, for practical purposes, meant the Civil service) did not insure property such as government buildings. If a government building was damaged, the cost of repair would be met from public funds because, in the long run, this was cheaper than paying insurance premiums. Since many UK government buildings have been sold to property companies, and rented back, this arrangement is now less common and may have disappeared altogether.

[edit] Complexity of insurance policy contracts

Insurance policies can be complex and some policyholders may not understand all the fees and coverages included in a policy. As a result, people may buy policies on unfavorable terms. In response to these issues, many countries have enacted detailed statutory and regulatory regimes governing every aspect of the insurance business, including minimum standards for policies and the ways in which they may be advertised and sold.

Many institutional insurance purchasers buy insurance through an insurance broker. Brokers represent the buyer (not the insurance company), and typically counsel the buyer on appropriate coverages, policy limitations. A broker generally holds contracts with many insurers, thereby allowing the broker to "shop" the market for the best rates and coverage possible.

Insurance may also be purchased through an agent. Unlike a broker, who represents the policyholder, an agent represents the insurance company from whom the policyholder buys. An agent can represent more than one company.

[edit] Redlining

Redlining is the practice of denying insurance coverage in specific geographic areas, purportedly because of a high likelihood of loss, while the alleged motivation is unlawful discrimination. Racial profiling or redlining has a long history in the property insurance industry in the United States. From a review of industry underwriting and marketing materials, court documents, and research by government agencies, industry and community groups, and academics, it is clear that race has long affected and continues to affect the policies and practices of the insurance industry.[9]

In determining premiums and premium rate structures, insurers consider quantifiable factors, including location, credit scores, gender, occupation, marital status, and education level. However, the use of such factors is often considered to be unfair or unlawfully discriminatory, and the reaction against this practice has in some instances led to political disputes about the ways in which insurers determine premiums and regulatory intervention to limit the factors used.

An insurance underwriter's job is to evaluate a given risk as to the likelihood that a loss will occur. Any factor that causes a greater likelihood of loss should theoretically be charged a higher rate. This basic principle of insurance must be followed if insurance companies are to remain solvent. Thus, "discrimination" against (i.e., differential treatment of) potential insureds in the risk evaluation and premium-setting process is a necessary by-product of the fundamentals of insurance underwriting. For instance, insurers charge older people significantly higher premiums than they charge younger people for term life insurance. Older people are thus treated differently than younger people (i.e., a distinction is made, discrimination occurs). The rationale for the differential treatment goes to the heart of the risk a life insurer takes: Old people are likely to die sooner than young people, so the risk of loss (the insured's death) is greater in any given period of time and therefore the risk premium must be higher to cover the greater risk. However, treating insureds differently when there is no actuarially sound reason for doing so is unlawful discrimination.

What is often missing from the debate is that prohibiting the use of legitimate, actuarially sound factors means that an insufficient amount is being charged for a given risk, and there is thus a deficit in the system. The failure to address the deficit may mean insolvency and hardship for all of a company's insureds. The options for addressing the deficit seem to be the following: Charge the deficit to the other policyholders or charge it to the government (i.e., externalize outside of the company to society at large).

[edit] Health insurance

Health insurance, which is coverage for individuals to protect them against medical costs, is a highly charged and political issue in the United States, which does not have socialized health coverage. In theory, the market for health insurance should function in a manner similar to other insurance coverages, but the skyrocketing cost of health coverage has disrupted markets around the globe, but perhaps most glaringly in the U.S. See health insurance.

[edit] Dental insurance

Dental insurance, like health insurance, is coverage for individuals to protect them against dental costs. In the U.S., dental insurance is often part of an employer's benefits package, along with health insurance.

[edit] Insurance patents

See insurance patent for more details.

New insurance products can now be protected from copying with a business method patent in the United States.

A recent example of a new insurance product that is patented is telematic auto insurance. It was independently invented and patented by a major U.S. auto insurance company, Progressive Auto Insurance (U.S. Patent 5,797,134 ) and a Spanish independent inventor, Salvador Minguijon Perez (EP patent 0700009).

The basic idea of telematic auto insurance is that a driver's behavior is monitored directly while he or she drives and the information is transmitted to the insurance company. The insurance company uses the information to assess the likelihood that a driver will have an accident and adjusts premiums accordingly. A driver who drives great distances at high speeds, for example, might be charged a different rate than a driver who drives short distances at low speeds. The precise effect on charges is not known as it is not clear that a high speed long distance driver incurs greater risk to an insurance pool than the slow around-town driver.[citation needed]

A British auto insurance company, Norwich Union, has obtained a license to both the Progressive patent and Perez patent. They have made investments in infrastructure and developed a commercial offering called "Pay As You Drive" or PAYD.

Recent theoretical economic research on the social welfare effects of Progressive's telematics technology business process patents have questioned whether the business process patents are pareto efficient for society. Premliminary results suggest that they are not, but more work is needed. [10] [11]

Many independent inventors are in favor of patenting new insurance products since it gives them protection from big companies when they bring their new insurance products to market. Independent inventors account for 70 percent of the new U.S. patent applications in this area.

Many insurance executives are opposed to patenting insurance products because it creates a new risk for them. The Hartford insurance company, for example, recently had to pay $80 million to an independent inventor, Bancorp Services, in order to settle a patent infringement and theft of trade secret lawsuit for a type of corporate owned life insurance product invented and patented by Bancorp.

There are currently about 150 new patent applications on insurance inventions filed per year in the United States. The rate at which patents have issued has steadily risen from 15 in 2002 to 44 in 2006. [12]

[edit] The insurance industry and rent seeking

Certain insurance products and practices have been described as rent seeking by critics. That is, some insurance products or practices are useful primarily because of legal benefits, such as reducing taxes, as opposed to providing protection against risks of adverse events. Under United States tax law, for example, most owners of variable annuities and variable life insurance can invest their premium payments in the stock market and defer or eliminate paying any taxes on their investments until withdrawals are made. Sometimes this tax deferral is the only reason people use these products. Another example is the legal infrastructure which allows life insurance to be held in an irrevocable trust which is used to pay an estate tax while the proceeds themselves are immune from the estate tax.

[edit] Criticism of insurance companies

Some people believe that modern insurance companies are money-making businesses which have little interest in insurance. They argue that the purpose of insurance is to spread risk so the reluctance of insurance companies to take on high-risk cases (e.g. houses in areas subject to flooding, or young drivers) runs counter to the principle of insurance.

Other criticisms include:

* Insurance policies contain too many exclusion clauses. For example, some house insurance policies do not cover damage to garden walls.

* Most insurance companies now use call centres and staff attempt to answer questions by reading from a script. It is difficult to speak to anybody with expert knowledge.

[edit] Glossary

* 'Combined ratio' = loss ratio + expense ratio. Loss ratio is calculated by dividing the amount of losses (sometimes including loss adjustment expenses) by the amount of earned premium. Expense ratio is calculated by dividing the amount of operational expenses by the amount of earned premium. A lower number indicates a better return on the amount of capital placed at risk by an insurer.
* 'URIE' = unincorporated reciprocal inter-insurance exchange.
* 'SSA' = subscriber savings account.
* 'AIF' = attorney in fact.

[edit] References

1. ^ This discussion is adapted from Mehr and Camack “Principles of Insurance”, 6th edition, 1976, pp 34 – 37.
2. ^ Insured cars by state. Insurance Information Institute.
3. ^ C. Kulp & J. Hall, Casualty Insurance, Fourth Edition, 1968, page 35
4. ^ However, bankruptcy of the insured does not relieve the insurer. Certain types of insurance, e.g., workers's compensation and personal automobile, are subject to statutory requirements that injured parties have direct access to coverage. Ibid, page 35
5. ^ Ibid, page 35
6. ^ Fitzpatrick, Sean, Fear is the Key: A Behavioral Guide to Underwriting Cycles, 10 Conn. Ins. L.J. 255 (2004).
7. ^ Insurance Information Institute. Business insurance information. What does a business owners policy cover?. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
8. ^ U.S. Patent Application 20060287896 “Method for providing crop insurance for a crop associated with a defined attribute”
9. ^ Gregory D. Squires (2003) Racial Profiling, Insurance Style: Insurance Redlining and the Uneven Development of Metropolitan Areas Journal of Urban Affairs Volume 25 Issue 4 Page 391-410, November 2003
10. ^ Strauss and Hollis, 2007, Insurance Markets When Firms are Assymetrically Informed: A Note (HTML).
11. ^ Hollis and Strauss, 2007, Privacy, Driving Data and Automobile Insurance: An Economic Analysis (HTML).
12. ^ (Source: Insurance IP Bulletin, December 15, 2006)

[edit] See also

* ACORD
* Compulsory insurance This page links here and is a redirect with possibilities. You can help by eliminating the redirect command in the redirecting page and expanding it.

* Financial services (broader industry to which insurance belongs)
* Five for One
* Geneva Association, The (the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics)
* Insurance in India
* Insurance in Australia
* Insurance law
* Intergovernmental Risk Pool
* Insurance Hall of Fame
* Subrogation
* Uberrima fides
* Social security
* Universal health care
* Welfare state

[edit] Lists

* List of finance topics
* List of insurance topics
* List of United States insurance companies

[edit] External links
Look up Insurance in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


* Federation of European Risk Management Associations
* Insurance Information Institute
* National Association of Insurance Commissioners
* The British Library - finding information on the insurance industry (UK bias)
* Insurance Bureau of Canada
* Museum of Insurance - displays thousands of antique insurance policies and ephemera
* Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the U.S. Insurance industry
* Insurance at the Open Directory Project
* Insurance knowledge sharing at forums.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance"

Categories: Articles with limited geographic scope | Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from August 2007 | All articles needing copy edit | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Insurance | Service industries | Finance | Financial institutions | Information, knowledge, and uncertainty
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