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Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner - A consumer's insurance glossary

Publisher: Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Edition: undated page
Last checked: 2026-09-29
Status: Publication of the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, a US state...

Edition and licensing notes

Publisher. Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (www.insurance.wa.gov)

Edition. undated page; retrieved 2026-09-29

Status. Publication of the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, a US state agency.

Read the official text Practice questions from this source

What this document is

Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner - A consumer's insurance glossary is a reference published by Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (www.insurance.wa.gov). It is one of the Washington documents that insurance license exam questions are written from, including washington property & casualty, washington personal lines, washington claims adjuster practice questions. This page summarizes it and points to the official version, which is the text to rely on.

Sections cited in practice questions

Each practice answer shows the exact passage it comes from. These are sections of this document that questions cite, with a short excerpt from the source text.

Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Replacement cost"
“Your insurance company initially pays you for the used value of your item. After you buy the replacement item, your insurance company will pay you the difference between the used value and the actual replacement cost.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Coinsurance"
“In homeowner insurance, the insured person shares proportionally in losses when the amount of insurance is less than a specified percentage of the property insured.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Limits"
“The maximum amount of benefit the insurance company will pay for a given situation or occurrence.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Special limits"
“The limitation in a homeowner policy about losses for specific items such as gold and silver bullion, currency, securities, letters of credit, manuscripts, passports, tickets, stamps, boats, trailers, firearms, and silver and gold ware. To cover these items, the homeowner must buy additional coverage.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Indemnify"
“This provides payment, repair, or replacement to a person who has experienced a loss.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Binder (binding receipt)"
“A binder is proof of coverage for a specified time period prior to the company issuing someone the actual policy or requiring a premium payment. However, if the consumer pays the premium with the application, the insurance company will issue a binder or binding receipt.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Earthquake coverage"
“Insurance companies offer earthquake coverage as additional coverage to homeowner policies, and standard commercial property and casualty policies. You can buy it as a separate endorsement and add it to your homeowner policy or buy a separate stand-alone policy.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Application (app)"
“An application without premium payment is a request for an offer. With a premium payment, it is an actual offer, unless the insurance company declines to issue a policy to the customer.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Apportionment"
“Dividing a loss proportionately among two or more insurers to cover the same loss.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Actuary"
“Actuary - An insurance professional who analyzes and calculates rates and reserves. Evaluates and manages statistical information.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Subrogation"
“Subrogation - This allows the insurance company to recover the payment it made to the person it insures from the person responsible for the damages or their insurance company.”
Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, A consumer's insurance glossary, "Surplus line"
“Surplus line - Coverage a consumer buys from an unlicensed insurance company because it’s unavailable from an insurance company licensed in the state.”

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Questions about this source

No. This page summarizes the document and links to the official version. Always rely on the text published by Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (www.insurance.wa.gov) for the current law.

Practice questions for Washington Property & Casualty, Washington Personal Lines, Washington Claims Adjuster cite this document.

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