385.020. Definitions.
Definitions.
385.020. 1. As used in sections 385.010 to 385.080, the following wordsand phrases mean:
(1) "Credit accident and sickness insurance", insurance on a debtor toprovide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or other credittransaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the policy;
(2) "Credit casualty insurance", insurance other than credit lifeinsurance, credit accident and sickness insurance, credit involuntaryunemployment insurance, or credit property insurance, by which thesatisfaction of a debt in whole or in part is a benefit provided upon theoccurrence of any unknown or contingent event whatever, when such insurance issold to individual consumers and written as part of a credit transaction, butonly insofar as it applies to personal debt incurred by individual consumersand not debt incurred in any business, trade or profession of the debtor;
(3) "Credit involuntary unemployment insurance", insurance on a debtorto provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or othercredit transaction while the debtor is involuntarily unemployed as defined inthe policy;
(4) "Credit life insurance", insurance on the life of a debtor pursuantto or in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction;
(5) "Credit property insurance", insurance against loss of or damage topersonal property, covering a creditor's security interest in such property,when such insurance is written as part of a loan or other credit transaction,but only insofar as it applies to property sold to individual consumers forpersonal use, or pledge by them, and not used in any business, trade orprofession of the purchaser, except that such insurance shall not meanhomeowners', renters' or lessees' insurance;
(6) "Creditor", the lender of money or vendor or lessor of goods,services, property, rights, or privileges for which payment is arrangedthrough a credit transaction, or any successor to the right, title, orinterest of any such lender, vendor, or lessor, and any affiliate, associate,or subsidiary of any of them, or any director, officer, or employee of any ofthem, or any other person in any way associated with any of them, including aholding company;
(7) "Debtor", a borrower of money or a purchaser or lessee of goods,services, property, rights, or privileges for which payment is arrangedthrough a credit transaction;
(8) "Decreasing term life coverage", credit life insurance decreasingover the term of the coverage to correspond with the scheduled or actualamount of unpaid indebtedness, whichever is greater;
(9) "Director", director of the Missouri department of insurance,financial institutions and professional registration;
(10) "Identifiable charge", the amount a creditor charges a debtor orcollects from him specifically for credit insurance in addition to any otherstated charges, including interest or discount, permitted by law;
(11) "Indebtedness", the total amount payable by a debtor to a creditorin connection with a loan or other credit transaction;
(12) "Insurer", an insurance company authorized to write credit lifeinsurance, credit accident and sickness insurance, credit casualty insurance,credit involuntary unemployment insurance or credit property insurance;
(13) "Joint life coverage", credit life insurance covering two or morelives, the entire sum insured being payable upon the death of the firstinsured debtor to die while the insurance is in force;
(14) "Level term life coverage", credit life insurance remaining levelover the term of the coverage.
2. As used in sections 385.010 to 385.080, the following technical termsshall have the indicated meanings:
(1) "Claims", benefits payable on death, disability, debt default,involuntary unemployment or property damage, excluding loss adjustmentexpense, claims settlement costs, or other additions of any kind;
(2) "Claims incurred", claims actually paid during the reporting yearplus the estimated reserves at the end of the year for reported claims in theprocess of settlement and for unreported claims, less the correspondingestimated reserves at the end of the preceding year. All reserves are to bedetermined in a consistent manner from year to year;
(3) "Credibility period", as of any point of time the period of at leastthree years immediately prior thereto;
(4) "Premiums earned", the total gross premiums which become due theinsurer, without reduction of any kind, except the premiums refunded oradjusted on account of termination of coverage, appropriately adjusted forchanges in gross unearned premiums in force upon a pro rata basis or a "sum ofthe digits" basis, where applicable. Where premiums are payable monthly onthe basis of outstanding insured balances, "premiums earned" means the totalpremiums paid the insurer during the reporting year plus premiums due theinsurer but unpaid at the end of that year, less premiums due the insurer butunpaid at the end of the previous year. As defined under either system,premiums are without reduction of any kind except for those refunded oradjusted because of termination of coverage.
(L. 1977 H.B. 610 § 3, A.L. 1992 S.B. 519)