Effective 28 Aug 1992

385.020. Definitions. — 1. As used in sections 385.010 to 385.080, the following words and phrases mean:

(1) "Credit accident and sickness insurance", insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or other credit transaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the policy;

(2) "Credit casualty insurance", insurance other than credit life insurance, credit accident and sickness insurance, credit involuntary unemployment insurance, or credit property insurance, by which the satisfaction of a debt in whole or in part is a benefit provided upon the occurrence of any unknown or contingent event whatever, when such insurance is sold to individual consumers and written as part of a credit transaction, but only insofar as it applies to personal debt incurred by individual consumers and not debt incurred in any business, trade or profession of the debtor;

(3) "Credit involuntary unemployment insurance", insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or other credit transaction while the debtor is involuntarily unemployed as defined in the policy;

(4) "Credit life insurance", insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction;

(5) "Credit property insurance", insurance against loss of or damage to personal 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 for personal use, or pledge by them, and not used in any business, trade or profession of the purchaser, except that such insurance shall not mean homeowners', 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 arranged through a credit transaction, or any successor to the right, title, or interest 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 of them, or any other person in any way associated with any of them, including a holding company;

(7) "Debtor", a borrower of money or a purchaser or lessee of goods, services, property, rights, or privileges for which payment is arranged through a credit transaction;

(8) "Decreasing term life coverage", credit life insurance decreasing over the term of the coverage to correspond with the scheduled or actual amount of unpaid indebtedness, whichever is greater;

(9) "Director", director of the Missouri department of commerce and insurance;

(10) "Identifiable charge", the amount a creditor charges a debtor or collects from him specifically for credit insurance in addition to any other stated charges, including interest or discount, permitted by law;

(11) "Indebtedness", the total amount payable by a debtor to a creditor in connection with a loan or other credit transaction;

(12) "Insurer", an insurance company authorized to write credit life insurance, 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 more lives, the entire sum insured being payable upon the death of the first insured debtor to die while the insurance is in force;

(14) "Level term life coverage", credit life insurance remaining level over the term of the coverage.

2. As used in sections 385.010 to 385.080, the following technical terms shall have the indicated meanings:

(1) "Claims", benefits payable on death, disability, debt default, involuntary unemployment or property damage, excluding loss adjustment expense, claims settlement costs, or other additions of any kind;

(2) "Claims incurred", claims actually paid during the reporting year plus the estimated reserves at the end of the year for reported claims in the process of settlement and for unreported claims, less the corresponding estimated reserves at the end of the preceding year. All reserves are to be determined in a consistent manner from year to year;

(3) "Credibility period", as of any point of time the period of at least three years immediately prior thereto;

(4) "Premiums earned", the total gross premiums which become due the insurer, without reduction of any kind, except the premiums refunded or adjusted on account of termination of coverage, appropriately adjusted for changes in gross unearned premiums in force upon a pro rata basis or a "sum of the digits" basis, where applicable. Where premiums are payable monthly on the basis of outstanding insured balances, "premiums earned" means the total premiums paid the insurer during the reporting year plus premiums due the insurer but unpaid at the end of that year, less premiums due the insurer but unpaid at the end of the previous year. As defined under either system, premiums are without reduction of any kind except for those refunded or adjusted because of termination of coverage.

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(L. 1977 H.B. 610 § 3, A.L. 1992 S.B. 519)