New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
Ins - Commissioner, Insurance Department
Chapter Ins 1400 - AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
Part Ins 1403 - THE WRITING OF AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE IN THE VOLUNTARY MARKET
Section Ins 1403.02 - Definitions Applicable to the Voluntary Market

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules Ins 1403.02

Current through Register No. 12, March 21, 2024

(a) "Automobile insurance" means primary insurance, including non-owned vehicle only policies, against bodily injury or property damage, including legal liability, arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of motor vehicle(s). The term includes medical payments insurance, physical damage insurance, uninsured motorists insurance, and other related insurance coverage arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of motor vehicle(s), but does not include umbrella or excess coverage.

(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of insurance.

(c) "Eligible risk" means a person who has signed a residency statement pursuant to RSA 417-A:3-b and Ins 1407.01.

(d) "Experience period" means the time period of 3 years immediately preceding the effective date of the policy.

(e) "Exposure" means the rating units on which insurance premium is based. For automobile insurance, exposure unit means one car insured for one 12-month period.

(f) "Insurer" means a licensed company, or group of affiliated companies, that are authorized to transact automobile insurance in the state of New Hampshire and, if a group of companies, are affiliated by ownership or contractual relationship encompassing joint operations or processes filed and approved by the commissioner.

(g) "Licensed driver" means any person with an authorized driver's license or any other license or permit to drive a vehicle issued under the laws of this state, including any temporary or learner's permit.

(h) "Motor vehicle" means any of the following vehicles, whether owned, leased for a contract period of at least 6 months, or not owned by the insured, so long as the vehicle is not one that is used as a public livery conveyance for passengers, rented to the insured with a driver, furnished to an insured for regular use, or used without express or implied consent of the owner:

(1) An automobile;

(2) A pick-up body, a panel truck, or similar type vehicle not customarily used in the occupation, profession, or business of the insured other than farming;

(3) Motorcycle, motorbike, motorscooter, or similar 2-wheel or 3-wheel vehicle;

(4) Off highway recreational vehicles which are registerable under RSA 215-A; or

(5) Motorhomes, meaning a self-propelled motor vehicle with a living area that is an integral part of the vehicle chassis or a pickup with a permanently attached camper body in which the living area or camper body consists of facilities for cooking and sleeping.

(i) "Person" means any natural person, spouse, family member, or any individual with express or implied consent to use a motor vehicle.

(j) "Policy of automobile insurance" means a policy issued with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state, insuring a person as named insured, or one or more related individuals resident of the same household, and under which the insured vehicles therein designated includes a private passenger automobile.

(k) "Policy period" means:

(1) The period of time set forth in the policy itself during which the policy is to remain in effect; or

(2) Twelve months if the policy contains no fixed expiration date.

(l) "Private passenger automobile" means any motor vehicle as defined in (h) above.

(m) "Prospective loss cost" means the expected average loss per unit of exposure.

(n) "Rate" means that cost of insurance per exposure unit whether expressed as a single number or as a prospective loss cost with an adjustment to account for the treatment of expenses, profit, and individual insurer variation in loss experience, prior to any application of individual risk variations based on loss or expense considerations. The term does not include minimum premiums.

(o) "Rating plan" means a system by which insurers establish a premium or rate to be charged for insurance coverage.

(p) "Renewal" means the issuance and delivery by an insurer of a policy superseding at the end of the policy period a policy previously issued and delivered by the same insurer and having the types and limits of coverage at least equal to those contained in the policy being superseded.

(q) "Replacement policy" means a policy that a company issues to replace a voluntary policy for the purpose of ceding the insured to the facility or moving the insured to a higher rated company or tier.

(r) "Resident" means:

(1) A person who maintains his or her true, fixed, and permanent residence within the state of New Hampshire and does not claim residency in any other state for any purpose and who has, through all of his or her actions, demonstrated a current intent to designate that the permanent residence is his or her principal place of physical presence for the indefinite future, to the exclusion of all others; or

(2) A person who is without a permanent street address due to homelessness or a person who is temporarily without a permanent street address due to traveling outside of the state of New Hampshire in a recreational vehicle for a period not to exceed 2 years and who has met and can demonstrate the requirements of RSA 261:52-b or RSA 261:52-c.

(s) "Supplementary rate information" means any manual or plan of rates, classification, rating schedule, minimum premium, policy fee, rating rule, and any other similar information needed to determine an applicable rate in effect or to be in effect.

(t) "Supporting information" means:

(1) The experience and judgment of the filer and the experience or data of other insurers or organizations relied upon by the filer;

(2) The interpretation of any statistical data relied upon by the filer;

(3) A description of methods used in making the rates; and

(4) Other similar information relied upon by the filer.

(u) "Tier" means a level or division of a company's or group's rating system that will yield a separate and distinct rate for automobile insurance.

(v) "Underwriting guidelines" mean:

(1) Any written mechanism developed as an aid in the selection, placement or tiering of private passenger automobile risks; and

(2) The portion of the rate classification system submitted to the commissioner pursuant to RSA 412:16.

#7185, eff 12-28-99; ss by #7538, eff 8-1-01; ss by #8032, eff 7-1-04; amd by #8074, eff 7-1-04; ss by #10153, eff 7-1-12

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Hampshire may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.