A valuable quick-reference fact-finder for agents, brokers, actuaries, underwriters, and ordinary consumers, this handbook defines approximately 4,500 key terms used in the insurance industry. Definitions apply to life, health, property, and casualty insurance, as well as to home owners' and tenants' insurance, professional liability insurance, pension plans, and individual retirement accounts. Purchase of insurance policies constitutes a major lifetime expenditure for the average consumer, and an important function of this book is to help non-experts understand what they need and exactly what they are buying when they purchase insurance. Author Harvey Rubin, a Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter, opens with an overview of the insurance industry that points out the many financial instruments available from insurance companies to businesses, professionals and average consumers. He devotes the remainder of this book to definitions, descriptions, and examples that translate technical insurance terminology into clear, comprehensible English. Here is an enlightening and accessible business guide that deserves a place on every home bookshelf. The New York Times calls this book ". . . helpful, particularly for employee benefit and retirement issues."