This section defines key insurance terms used in nearby credit life insurance provisions, including claims, creditor, debtor, insurer, joint life coverage, and premiums earned.
As used in § 56-7-903 , this section and §§ 56-7-905 — 56-7-912 , unless the context otherwise requires: “Claims” means benefits payable on death or disability, excluding loss adjustment expense, claims settlement costs, or other additions of any kind; “Claims incurred” means claims actually paid during the reporting year, plus the reserves at the end of the year for reported claims in the process of settlement and for claims incurred but not reported, less the corresponding reserves at the end of the preceding year. All reserves shall be determined in a consistent manner from year to year; “Credit life insurance” means insurance on the life of a debtor for a period of ten (10) years or less in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction of fifteen (15) years duration or less to provide payment to a creditor in the event of the death of a debtor; “Creditor” means the lender of money or vendor or lessor of goods, services, or property, rights, or privileges, for which payment is arranged through a credit transaction, or any successor to the right, title, or interest of the lender, vendor, or lessor, or an 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 them; “Debtor” means 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; “Identifiable charge” means the amount a creditor charges a debtor or collects from the debtor for credit life insurance in addition to any other stated charges, including interest or discount, permitted by law. A differential in interest rates between insured and uninsured loans is an identifiable charge; “Indebtedness” means the total amount payable by a debtor to a creditor in connection with a loan or other credit transaction; “Insurer” means an insurance company licensed to write credit life insurance; “Joint life coverage” means credit life insurance covering two (2) or more lives, either on a level or decreasing term basis where the entire sum insured becomes payable upon the death of the first insured debtor to die while the insurance is in force; and “Premiums earned” means the total gross premiums that become due the insurer, without reduction of any kind, except: Premiums refunded or adjusted on account of termination of coverage; and Adjustments to reflect 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 earned” shall be determined without reduction of any kind except for the premium refunds and adjustments; This definition shall not control the preparation of financial statements, but shall be used when § 56-7-903 — 56-7-912 specifically refer to premiums earned. Acts 1985, ch. 107, § 3; 1988, ch. 709, § 3.