Individual or corporate entity that proposes the conclusion of insurance contracts and may conclude them on behalf of the insurer if authorised by the latter. It may work with insurer(s) or broker(s).

Modification of the conditions of the risk (persons, goods or insured liabilities) that makes it more dangerous for the insurer. This modification must be communicated within the established period. The insurer may accept the aggravation, normally in exchange for a higher premium, or refuse it. The lack or delay of notification will penalise the policyholder.

Legal provision that allows, in the event of a defect that affects the validity of the contract (e.g. inaccurate or false declarations by the Policyholder or Insured), the contract to be cancelled from its beginning or from the date on which the defect occurred. In the event of nullity, the Insurer will refund the premiums collected, except in the case of bad faith on the part of the Policyholder/Insured. The term "nullity" is sometimes used incorrectly to mean "non-renewal of the contract at maturity", or "termination after maturity".

Document that titles the contract signed between the Policy Holder and the Insurer. It is composed by General, Special (in certain cases) and Particular Conditions.

The Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF) is a legal person governed by public law, of an independent administrative nature, with administrative, financial and management autonomy and its own assets. The bodies of the ASF are the Board of Directors, the Advisory Board and the Supervisory Committee.

This type of coverage is usually sold as part of a car policy or, less frequently, as part of other types of policy (travel or multi-risk, for example). Depending on the case, it offers guarantees of assistance for the vehicle and for people or just for people. The most commonly used guarantee is towing or transporting the vehicle due to breakdown or accident, but it also includes other guarantees of great interest such as medical assistance due to accident or illness abroad, medical transport or repatriation, advance payment of funds or bonds, compensation for lost luggage, etc.

A fortuitous, sudden and abnormal event, due to the action of an external cause that is foreign to the Insured Person and which causes bodily injuries that may be medically and objectively determined by a doctor.

Document titling an amendment made to the policy.

Updating method that does not require prior notification by the Policyholder and is performed by the Insurer under the terms established in the contract (periodicity and percentage). Its main objective is to avoid the erosive effect of inflation on the insured value.

Individual or collective entity that collects Insurance contract premiums.

Natural or legal person in favour of whom the service provided by the Insurer, arising from an insurance contract, reverts. The Insurer's benefit may take the form of payment of agreed indemnity / capital to the Insured or to the Insured Person or of indemnity to a Third Party.

Exceptional tax situations, more favourable than the normal applicable regime. Tax benefits are inherent to certain insurance products. In health insurance they allow part of the premium paid by the policyholder to be deducted from IRS tax or IRC taxable income, and in life and personal accident insurance they add to this benefit a reduction or exemption from the tax rate payable on the receipt of capital.

Discount on the insurance contract premium, for compliance with certain contractual conditions, namely the absence of claims.

Extinction of a right, once it is not exercised within the period established by law or by contract.

The Insurance Information, Mediation, Ombudsman and Arbitration Centre is an entity supported and authorised by the Ministry of Justice, whose objective is to provide information and alternative means of settling disputes, through two autonomous and independent procedures: - The Mediation and Arbitration Service; - The Insurance Customer Ombudsman Service.

Also called "contract guarantee" or "insured risks". It is the set of situations or events foreseen in the contract, the occurrence of which will give rise to the provision of services by the insurer (payment of agreed capital, values or services).

Clauses which, in some policies, supplement the General Conditions. Depending on the structure of the contract, they may serve to expand or delimit the covers mentioned in the General Conditions, or to establish all covers when this is not done in the General Conditions.

Set of clauses that define and regulate the general aspects of an insurance policy (duration, object, applicable law, rights and obligations of the parties, etc.) common to all policies of the same class or type. Usually in book form, they also contain some definitions (of Policyholder, Insured, etc.)

All the clauses of the insurance contract that individualise it. For example, the name of the Policy Holder, the Insured, the Person or Insured Object, address, contracted coverages and deductibles, dates and method of payment, etc. They are normally printed on the sheet(s) that accompanies the General and Special Conditions booklet.

Formal written agreement, of adhesion and good faith, between an entity (insurer) that undertakes, upon receipt of a certain amount (premium), paid by the Policy Holder, to indemnify or deliver an agreed amount to another entity (Insured/ Insured Person) or to pay an indemnity to a third party, in the event of the occurrence of a future and random event (risk).

Qualified intermediary with at least 4 years of activity as an agent, who may also provide advice and assistance to policyholders, conduct studies or issue technical opinions on insurance and, where authorised, conclude contracts on their behalf. As a general rule, a broker is a legal person.

Joint assumption of a risk by several insurers, under the same terms (risks covered) and with the existence of a single policy, issued by the leader of the business.

Monetary value established in the contract which represents the quantitative limit of the insurer's liability.

Common name for the International Certificate of Motor Insurance. It is the proof of compulsory civil liability insurance, valid for all EU countries, other countries adhering to the Multilateral Guarantee Agreement between National Insurers' Bureaux and other adherents, mentioned in the document. It is also valid for journeys between EU countries if in that territory there is no National Insurance Office.

This document must be issued by the insurer in the event of termination or non-renewal of a motor vehicle policy. It proves the existence/non-existence of claims in the last 5 years and may, optionally, cover a longer period or refer to other elements, such as, for example, the percentage of bonus/malus. It is essential for the new insurer, in the event of a transfer.

Document issued by the insurer, or by the intermediary on its behalf, proving the existence of a valid policy, in the issuing phase or not yet delivered to the Policy Holder.

Damage that must be repaired, compensated or indemnified. It can be patrimonial or non patrimonial, direct or indirect, personal/corporal or material.

Material damage caused to the insured vehicle as a result of a set of risks covered by the policy, for example: crash, collision or overturning, fire, lightning or explosion, theft, theft of use, catastrophic risks and malicious acts.

Date on which the insurance contract ends (or automatically renews, unless notice to the contrary is given, in contracts for "years and thereafter").

Date on which the premium (or each fraction of the premium) is due.

Document, standardised between Insurers, which those involved in an automobile accident, if they agree as to the circumstances of the accident, must fill in and sign. This document is self-copying and has the claim form on the reverse side. It is indispensable for the settlement of the claim under the IDS Convention, in cases where this is possible and if the insurers of the intervening parties are members.

Right that, under the terms of the Law or the contract, entitles the Insurer to be reimbursed by its policyholder/insured party or the person responsible for the accident, under certain circumstances, for the amount of compensation paid to injured third parties.

Injury affecting physical or mental health.

Injury affecting any movable, immovable or animal thing.

Damage that is not susceptible to pecuniary valuation but must be compensated by the payment of a pecuniary value.

Damage which, being susceptible to pecuniary valuation, must be repaired or compensated.

An integral part of the premium (price) of insurance in general. It does not correspond to the specific cost of the risk coverages of the contract, but to the costs related to the issue and management of the policy, mediation commission and other fiscal or parafiscal charges (stamps and other specific taxes such as FGA, FAT, SNB and INEM).

Return to the Policyholder of a part of the Insurance Premium already paid, for various reasons (termination of the contract, reduction of the capital or of the covers, etc.)

Qualitative delimitation of the scope of coverage. In other words, in relation to each of the contract's covers, the exclusions represent specific situations not guaranteed.

Amount which, in case of a claim, shall be payable by the Policy Holder and whose amount (which may be expressed in money, in percentage or in time, depending on the modality) is mentioned in the Particular Conditions of the Contract.

This is an autonomous fund managed by the Instituto de Seguros de Portugal and fed by a percentage levied on premiums in the insurance business and by other sources. It has wide-ranging powers, of which the most important are Payment of all benefits in cash and in kind due for accidents at work whenever, by reason of bankruptcy (or equivalent) or company recovery proceedings, or by reason of absence, disappearance or impossibility of identification, they cannot be paid by the entity responsible; Payment of the accident at work insurance premiums of companies in the process of recovery, which are unable to do so; Reimbursement to the insurers of the amounts relating to; Updates of pensions for permanent disability equal to or greater than 30% or death Additional twelfths (13th and 14th months), created by Decree-Law 466/85 (only for accidents occurring up to 31/12/99) and additional costs arising from the increase of the base salary (Decree-Law 459/79) of pensions for permanent disability equal to or greater than 30% or death, fixed before 31/10/79) Reinsure and retrocede risks refused by the insurers, in this branch.

This is an autonomous fund managed by the Portuguese Insurance Institute and fed by a percentage of the insurance premiums for this class. It guarantees the payment of compensation for bodily injury or property damage as a result of a road accident in Portugal caused by an identified vehicle with a Portuguese registration number, or a vehicle from a country that does not adhere to the Green Card convention, without valid compulsory insurance or whose insurer is bankrupt, or by an unidentified motor vehicle (in the latter case, only for bodily injury). The excess for material damage is ¤ 299.28. The F.G.A. has a right of recourse, in relation to the compensation it pays, against those who caused the accidents.

Other optional protection guarantees in addition to the main ones.

This is the system of settling claims in the scope of automobile civil liability and own damage insurance, characterised by the fact that the insurer of the driver (wholly or partially) who is innocent of the occurrence of the accident pays directly or in advance to its insured party the indemnity to which he is entitled, and subsequently settles the accounts and recovers the amount paid in the meantime from the insurer of the driver responsible for the accident. For this to happen it is necessary that - Both drivers correctly complete and sign the Amicable Declaration of Automobile Accident (D.A.A.A.A.). - Only 2 vehicles are involved. - The accident takes place on Portuguese territory. - There is only material damage. - The damage does not exceed 15.000 Euros. - Both vehicles are insured by one of the companies that are members of the Convention. - If a trailer is involved, it must be insured by the member insuring the vehicle.

A medically analysable situation in which the victim finds him/herself as a consequence of an accident, translated into the incapacity to perform the physical acts or behaviours or those inherent to the intellectual functions, inherent to the personal or professional activity of a normal person. It may be partial or total (absolute) in terms of severity and temporary or permanent (permanent) in terms of durability.

An insured person shall be considered to be affected by Absolute and Permanent Disability when, as a result of illness or accident, he/she becomes totally incapacitated, on the basis of objective and medically verifiable elements, from exercising any remunerable activity and provided that his/her state of health requires him/her to resort continuously to the assistance of a third person to satisfy his/her vital needs.

An insured person shall be considered to be affected by Total and Permanent Disability when, as a result of an illness or accident covered by the Policy, he/she becomes totally and permanently incapable of exercising any profession compatible with his/her knowledge and abilities and provided that such situation may merit objective medical verification and gives rise to permanent functional incapacity of 60% or more.

Anatomical loss or functional impotence of limbs or organs, susceptible to objective medical evidence, arising as a consequence of bodily injury caused by an accident covered by the policy.

Temporary physical impossibility, susceptible of objective medical verification, of the insured person exercising his or her normal activity.

Compensation to repair a loss caused by a covered loss. In property insurance, the conditions of the contract usually establish three forms, at the choice of the insurer: reconstitution/start-up, replacement by an equal good or payment in cash. Reconstitution of the existing situation is the first form of compensation provided for by law, in civil liability cases, being replaced by cash if impossible or excessively onerous for the debtor. Note that in insurance/coverage of persons, which guarantees their life or disability/incapacity, "compensation" has, more exactly, the character of "payment of an agreed amount".

A system for automatically updating capital by applying an index (usually the inflation index). This raises the nominal value of the capital, thus maintaining its real value. It avoids the application of the proportional rule in the event of a claim.

Offence that affects physical or mental health causing an injury.

Offence affecting movable or immovable property or an animal causing a loss.

The entity ceding the goods which will be the object of the Insurance contract and which also subscribes the policy.

Identification of the Place where the insured property is located. Applies to Fire, Multi-risk, Theft, Crystal, Work Accidents (Civil Construction by Area) and Engineering insurance.

The entity that uses the goods assigned by the lessor, under the terms established in the respective leasing contract and that contracts with the Insurer, being responsible for the payment of the premiums.

Increase of the insurance contract premium, due to circumstances foreseen in the policy, namely the occurrence of an accident.

Natural or legal person registered at the Portuguese Insurance Institute, who can propose and prepare the conclusion of insurance contracts and provide assistance, and may even conclude contracts on behalf of the Insurer, if authorised by the latter. There are three categories of insurance intermediaries: Agent, Broker (intermediaries simultaneously employed by an insurer) and Insurance Broker.

Type of insurance contract that is characterised by the joint coverage of risks of a different nature, as if in a package.

Insured property (movable or immovable property or animal) or contractually insured liability defined in the policy.

Duty to act in accordance with and respecting a previously recognised right. In the case of insurance contracts, the respective General Conditions establish several obligations for all parties involved, such as the payment of the premium.

Person subject to the risks defined in the respective insurance contract.

Average theoretical cost of the contract covers plus other costs, namely acquisition and administration of the contract as well as management and collection.

Fraction of the annual premium, paid according to the periodicity chosen by the Policyholder and accepted by the Insurer.

Minimum amount to be charged for each policy. Varies depending on the class/modality and the criteria of each insurer.

An amount payable by the Policyholder and which, as a general rule, results from an increase in risk, inclusion of cover or increase in capital.

Gross premium plus tax and parafiscal charges, which corresponds to the price paid by the Policyholder to the Insurer for the insurance contract.

Single amount paid by the Policyholder that corresponds to the price of the risk assumed by the Insurer. Practiced always (or almost always) in Temporary insurance.

Form, supplied by the Insurer, as a general rule, where the Policy Holder proposes changes to the contract conditions.

Form, supplied by the Insurer, as a general rule, where the Policyholder proposes to the Insurer the acceptance by the latter of certain risks, duly identified and valued. The proposal is the basis of the insurance contract (which is an adhesion contract) and, as such, should be filled out clearly, without omissions or erasures, and duly signed, the same occurring with the amendment proposal.

Latin expression which means proportional to time. It is a calculation method used in Insurance to determine supplementary premiums and reimbursements. Currently, it is replaced in insurance contracts by its translation into Portuguese, to comply with the principle of "transparency".

Provisions mandatorily set up by insurance companies to financially cover liabilities arising from insurance contracts signed.

Communication to the Insurer of a fact susceptible of making the policy work, that is, of triggering the payment of a capital sum, of an agreed value or of the provision of a service, as the case may be. Sometimes it designates the specific form used for that purpose.

When the cost of repair exceeds either the value of the insured property or a percentage limit established by law or contract.

This is the period of time during which the guarantees of the health insurance contract are not yet effective in the event of illness. This period is expressly stated in the particular or special conditions of the policy.

Evaluation of the damage and losses resulting from a claim and/or the circumstances in which it occurred.

This is the professional indicated by the insurer or the insured party who will carry out an appraisal (expert's report) of the insured property following an accident and the respective losses.

Declaration signed by the beneficiary of a claim by which he/she declares to be fully compensated, releasing the insurer definitively.

Professional term denoting broad categories of insurance.

This is the legal obligation placed on any person to repair the damage caused to other people as a result of action or omission, through negligence, with intent or merely as a result of the danger inherent in certain things, animals or activities.

It consists of being subjected to a penalty (imprisonment or a fine) as a consequence of committing a crime (an illicit and culpable fact expressly described in the Criminal Law.

Company to whom a risk or group of accepted risks is ceded. The cession may be total or partial.

Mechanism to increase the capital, throughout the term of the contract or the agreed rent payment, according to a pre-agreed percentage, usually related to inflation. Revaluation is usually practised in life or personal accident insurance and may be accompanied by an increase in the premium or not, depending on the terms of the contract.

Fortuitous event independent of the will of the contracting parties, against which the Insured wishes to protect himself.

Principle established in the Commercial Code and, as a general rule, transposed into the policy, in property insurance, according to which, if the insured value is lower than the real value, the Insured shall be liable for a proportional part of the damages in any claim, unless otherwise agreed.

Payment of a capital sum, in the form of periodic instalments, made by the insurer to the Insured Person, the Beneficiary or the injured Third Party.

Extinction of a contract before its normal expiry date, by unilateral decision of one of the contracting parties (the same as resolution) or by the will of both.

It is the legal mechanism that allows the contract to be terminated, either following the verification of a reason that the law or the contract recognises as justifying termination, or without the need for a reason. It is distinguished from "annulment" in that it normally only produces effects for the future; the effects produced before the moment of termination are not affected.

Percentage applied to fire, multi-risk, agricultural and livestock sectors. It is intended for the National Fire Service.

Insurance of a group of persons linked to each other and to the Policyholder by a common bond or interest.

Group insurance in which the insured persons contribute, in whole or in part, to the payment of the premium.

Group insurance where the Policyholder contributes in full to the payment of the premium.

Those that are not mandatory under current legislation.

Their contracting complies with a legal imposition. They may belong to various branches or modalities, but most are civil liability. Their purpose is to create compensation mechanisms that guarantee the protection of victims of certain risks, thus fulfilling a social function that is even more relevant than that of the optional ones.

Insurance taken out for a predetermined term; in most situations, the period of validity is less than one year.

The Insured Person who has suffered an accident at work.

Event or series of events resulting from the same cause susceptible of making the guarantees of the contract work.

Increase of premium to be borne by the Policyholder in situations which involve aggravation of risk.

This is the transfer of the rights of the indemnity holder to the Insurer, after the settlement of the indemnity, so that the Insurer can demand the reimbursement of the amount spent from the party responsible for the damage.

Act by which the insurer assumes the guarantee of a risk.

Entity that enters into a capitalisation operation with the Insurer, being responsible for the payment of the instalment.

Residual value of any asset, generally movable, which is the insured object of a contract or owned by an injured third party after suffering an accident. The value of the salvage is taken into account when calculating the claim and may or may not be discounted from the value of the claim, depending on whether it is established in the contract or negotiated between the parties.

The person in whose interest the contract is concluded or the person (insured person) whose life, health or physical integrity is insured.

Entity legally authorised to operate Insurance contracts.

A transaction whereby the policyholder, upon payment of a premium, obtains a promise, within the framework defined by law or by contract, of a benefit from another person (insurer) in the event of a claim.

Tables freely drawn up by the insurance companies and accepted by the policyholders of motor insurance with cover for own damage. They reflect the devaluation suffered by the vehicle, either annually or monthly, depending on the insurer. The resulting insured sum is the basis for compensation to the Insured in the event of a total loss due to accident.

Proportion of the premium in relation to the insured capital, usually expressed as a percentage or as a fraction.

In addition to the normal working period, the period after its beginning, in acts of preparation or related to it, and the period after its beginning, in acts also related to it, as well as normal or forced interruptions of work.

A person who is external to the creation of the insured risk, who as a general rule is not specified in the contract and who, as a result of a covered loss, suffers a material or non-material damage susceptible of being repaired or compensated.

Entity that enters into the Insurance contract with the Insurer, being responsible for the payment of the premiums.

Insurance taken out with no validity limit; formally, the insurance is valid for a period of one year, after which, if there has been no written notification to the contrary, it will be automatically renewed for another year.

Usually referred to in property insurance, it corresponds to that practiced by the construction industry, without considering the value of the soil or land and other factors inherent to real estate speculation.

  Specific contractual stipulation, common in certain insurances (multi-risk home, or car - own damage, for example) according to which, in the case of total loss of the insured property, compensation is made for its insured value in new without considering the depreciation inherent to time and use.  

Commercial value of an asset, at market prices, in case of sale by its owner.