Resources · Glossary
A glossary of non-life insurance in the CIMA region.
Concise definitions of the operational terms used in the Surelia Assurance documentation and in the day-to-day practice of CIMA markets.
- CIMA certificate
- An operational document evidencing cover for a vehicle under the practices of the Inter-African Conference of Insurance Markets (CIMA).
- ECOWAS
- Economic Community of West African States. Some motor certificates are recognised beyond the issuing country under the applicable agreements.
- Premium notice
- A document representing a collection request linked to an insurance policy: premium, taxes, fees. It follows a status cycle (issued, partially paid, settled, unpaid, cancelled).
- Endorsement
- A contractual amendment to a policy during its term. It affects covers, premiums and premium notices, and retains its own history.
- FAC (Facultative)
- Risk-by-risk reinsurance placement, as opposed to automatic treaties. It extends capacity on large or atypical risks.
- XOL (Excess of Loss)
- A non-proportional claims protection treaty: the reinsurer covers the share of a loss above a defined threshold (the priority) up to a given limit.
- Cash-loss
- The mechanism through which an insurer obtains early settlement of a reinsurance recovery on a major loss, without waiting for the normal technical account cycle.
- SOA (Statement of Account)
- A reinsurer's technical account statement: ceded premiums, recoveries, balances, variances. Used for periodic reconciliation between insurer and reinsurer.
- Bordereau
- A detailed statement sent to an intermediary or a reinsurer: premium, claims or commission bordereau. Used for steering and invoicing.
- Written premium
- Premium corresponding to policies issued during the period, regardless of actual collection. Used as a production indicator.
- Earned premium
- The share of written premium corresponding to cover actually elapsed during the period. The reference indicator for loss ratios.
- Reinsurance recovery
- The amount owed by a reinsurer in respect of a ceded loss. It follows its own cycle: notification, validation, collection, reconciliation.
- Recourse / Subrogation
- Action taken by the insurer, after settling a claim, to recover from the liable third party the sums paid to the policyholder. Subrogation = transfer of rights.
- FNOL (First Notice of Loss)
- The first notification of a claim, whatever the channel (back office, intermediary portal, call centre, API, partner). The starting point of the claims journey.
- Insurance sub-ledger
- A sub-ledger dedicated to insurance technical movements (production, collection, claim, reinsurance), separate from the finance general ledger.
What's next
A term missing, or one that needs refining?
The glossary is a living document — suggest your terms at your next session with the Surelia team.