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W

Wage Indexing. A cost of living increase applied to Social Security benefits after a worker has achieved eligibility for benefits.

Waiting Period (WP). The period of time between the beginning of a disability and the start of disability insurance benefits. Also known as Elimination Period.

Waiver. (1) A rider waiving (excluding) liability for a stated cause of injury or sickness. (2) A provision or rider agreeing to waive premium payments during a period of disability of the insured. (3) The act of giving up or surrendering a right or privilege that is known to exist. In property and liability fields, it may be affected by an agent, adjuster, company, employee or company official, and it can be done either orally or in writing.

Waiver of Coinsurance. A provision in a property policy that the coinsurance clause does not apply if the total loss does not exceed a stated amount, such as 2 percent of the sum insured or the amount of $2,500, whichever is greater. This eliminates the need to do a large inventory in order to determine whether or not the insured has complied with the coinsurance clause, especially where very small losses are involved.

Waiver of Premium. A provision in a life insurance policy that provides: in the event of total disability as defined by the policy, premiums for the policy will be waived for the duration of that disability. The rider is temporary, usually expiring at age 65. There’s usually a six-month waiting period before the rider’s benefits are payable.

Waiver of Restoration Premium. (1) An agreement or decision to forego any premium for reinstatement of the face amount of coverage under an insurance policy after it has been reduced by the amount of a loss payment. (2) A provision, especially in bonds, for automatic restoration of the full amount of protection without cost to the insured.

War Clause. A provision excluding liability of an insurer if a loss is caused by war.

War Risk Insurance. Insurance covering damage caused by war. Most often written by ocean marine insurance companies covering vessels.

Warehouse and Custom Bond. A bond guaranteeing the payment of custom duties.

Warehousemens Legal Liability. Coverage protecting warehousemen from liability claims, common to the business of warehousing, for loss or damage to property in storage.

Warehouse-to-Warehouse Coverage. A clause sometimes found in inland marine coverages that extends the policy to cover from the shipper’s warehouse to the consignee’s warehouse.

Warranty. A statement made on an application for most kinds of insurance that is warranted as true in all respects. If untrue in any respect, even if the untruth is not known to the applicant, the contract may be voided without regard to the materiality of the statement. By contrast, statements in life and health applications are not warranties except in cases of fraud. Courts have modified the doctrine of warranty to an application only when the statement is material to a risk or the circumstances of a loss. See also Representation.

Warranty, Implied. See Implied Warranty.

Warranty Policy. A policy written by a reputable company. The term is used in cases where additional coverage is needed: The additional policies all state that the reputable company’s warranty policy will stay in force and that they provide coverage exactly like that of the warranty policy.

Warsaw Convention. An international agreement setting limits of liability on international flights with respect to payments for bodily injury and death.

Watchman Warranty Clause. A provision often found in a burglary or fire policy providing for a reduced premium if there is a watchman on duty.

Watchperson. Under commercial crime insurance coverages, any person retained to have care and custody of the insured’s property inside the premises, and who has no other duties.

Water Damage Clause. A provision affording coverage for certain specified causes of water damage, e.g., damage caused by water leakage, overflow of heating or air-conditioning systems, plumbing, etc.

Water Damage Legal Liability Insurance. Coverage for an insured who suffers a water damage loss that also damages the property of others on the floor below or in adjoining premises.

Wave Damage Insurance. Coverage against damage to property resulting from high waves or tides.

WC. See Workers’ Compensation.

We/Us/Our. These words refer to the insurer in many personalized policy forms.

Wear and Tear Exclusion. An exclusion found in many inland marine policies. It excludes loss resulting from wear and tear, which means normal usage over a period of time that reduces the value of the property insured.

Wedding Presents Floater. A form that provides temporary coverage for wedding presents, usually starting shortly before the wedding and ending shortly thereafter.

Weekly Premium Insurance. (1) A policy whose premium is collected weekly by an agent calling at the door. It is usually sold in small face amounts. (2) A form of debit or industrial life insurance. See also Industrial Life Insurance.

Welfare. See Public Assistance.

Wet Marine Insurance. Insurance provided on ocean marine forms, covering ships and their cargos.

“While” Clauses. Clauses that suspend coverage “while” certain conditions exist, such as vacancy.

Whole Dollar Premium. In many insurance contracts, the premiums are rounded to the nearest dollar, rather than carrying them out to the nearest cent. An amount of 51 cents or more is usually rounded up to the next dollar, and any cents amount less than that is dropped.

Whole Life Insurance. Also known as straight life or permanent life, this insurance may be kept in force for a person’s whole life and pays a benefit upon the person’s death. All whole life policies build up nonforfeiture values, but they are paid for in 3 different ways. Under a straight or ordinary life policy, premiums are paid for as long as the insured lives. A single premium policy is paid for at one time in one premium. Between these two types there are many limited-payment plans, under which the insured pays premiums for a certain period or until reaching a certain age. Contrast with Term Insurance.

Wholesale Group Insurance. See Franchise Insurance.

Widow(er)’s Benefit. An early retirement benefit, at age 60, under Social Security for the surviving spouse of a covered worker.

Will. A legally enforceable declaration of an individual’s plan for the disposition of property.

Willful Injury. See Intentional Injury.

Windstorm. Wind of sufficient violence to be capable of damaging insured property. Windstorm coverage is usually included automatically as part of basic coverages.

Wisconsin Life Fund. The system of state underwritten and issued life insurance established by the state of Wisconsin and providing life insurance for citizens who apply. Wisconsin is unique among the 50 states in this respect.

Work and Materials Clause. A provision found in many property insurance policies which states that the insured is allowed to have the typical types of work and materials for his or her business. The clause makes this clear so that the policy cannot be voided later because of the “increased hazard” provision of the standard fire policy.

Work Program. A clause in contract bond reinsurance specifying that reinsurance be attached at a specified level of a principal’s total volume of work, rather than on the conventional basis of individual contract or bond amount. See Contract Bond.

Workers’ Compensation (WC). (1) A schedule of benefits payable to an employee by the employer without regard to liability, required by state law in the case of injury, disability or death as the result of occupational hazards. (2) Insurance agreeing to pay workers’ compensation law benefits on behalf of the insured employer.

Workers’ Compensation Catastrophe Policy. Excess of loss reinsurance purchased by primary insurers to cover their unlimited medical and compensation liability under the compensation laws of the several states.

Workers’ Compensation Rating. Basic rates for workers’ comp insurance are based upon a system of job classifications and manual rates. Job classification codes have been established for each type of job description. Separate job descriptions and classification codes exist for similar types of jobs if there are significant differences in the risk factors present. Each job classification code has a manual rate.

Working Capital. See Net Quick Assets.

Working Cover. A contract covering an area of excess reinsurance in which loss frequently is anticipated.

Wrap-Up. A broad package plan usually found only in large situations that applies to all liability risks (e.g., a wrap-up policy covering all contractors working on a specific job).

Write. To insure, underwrite or accept an application.

Written Business. Insurance on which an application has been taken out but which is not yet delivered and/or the first premium settled.

Written Premiums. The total premiums on all policies written by an insurer during a specified period of time, regardless of what portions have been earned. Contrast with Earned Premium.

Wrongful Abstraction. A term used usually in connection with money and securities coverage. Insurance covering wrongful abstraction protects against all forms of burglary, robbery and stealing.

Wrongful Death Action. A civil suit brought by survivors against someone believed responsible, by negligence or intention, for another’s death. Actions for wrongful death may have statutory minimums or maximums.

Wrongful Entry. The resumption of possession (repossession of real estate) by an owner or landlord of real property by unjust, reckless or unfair means.

Wrongful Eviction. Depriving a tenant of land or rental property by unjust, reckless or unfair means.

X

XCU. Explosion, Collapse and Underground Damage. A term used in business liability insurance to indicate that certain types of construction work involve these hazards. Many liability policies exclude them. They can be added by endorsement for an additional premium charge.

X Table. A designation sometimes used to refer to an experimental table or a draft of a table that has not developed to a point of satisfaction or for actual use in rating.