Free Alaska Personal Lines Practice Questions

Insurance only deals with pure risk: situations where there's a chance of loss or no loss, but no chance of gain (like your house burning down). Speculative risk involves a chance of loss, no loss, OR gain. That's gambling and investing, and insurers won't touch it. If there's an upside, it's not insurable.

Keep these three straight and you'll bank easy points all day: a peril is the cause of loss (fire, wind, theft), a hazard is something that increases the chance or severity of that loss, and risk is the uncertainty of loss itself. The peril is the thing that actually does the damage.

A hazard doesn't cause the loss itself; it just makes a loss more likely or more severe. Icy steps, frayed wiring, a careless attitude: none of those start the fire or the fall, but they tip the odds. Causes of loss are perils; hazards just stack the deck.

Moral hazard equals dishonesty. It's the risk that someone deliberately causes or exaggerates a loss to profit, like torching a failing business for the payout. Don't mix it up with morale hazard (carelessness, choice B) or physical hazard (the actual physical conditions in A and D).

Morale hazard is the 'eh, I'm covered' attitude: indifference or carelessness that creeps in because insurance exists. It's not dishonesty (that's moral hazard) and it's not a physical condition (physical hazard). Trick to remember: moralE hazard is about a person's lazy attitudE.

A physical hazard is a tangible condition that increases the likelihood or severity of a loss: gasoline in the garage, a slippery floor, frayed wiring. You can see or touch it. If it's an attitude problem it's morale; if it's dishonesty it's moral; if it's a physical thing sitting there raising the odds, it's physical.

An insurer can't predict whether your house specifically will burn down, but give them a big enough pool of similar homes and they can predict pretty accurately how many out of the whole group will. That's the law of large numbers: more similar exposures, more reliable predictions. It's the statistical engine that makes pricing coverage possible at all.

Buying insurance is the classic risk transfer: you hand the financial consequences of a loss to the insurer in exchange for a premium. Avoidance means not doing the risky thing at all, retention means keeping the risk yourself (like a deductible), and reduction means lowering the odds or severity (smoke detectors). Insurance equals transfer.

Indemnity is the whole heartbeat of insurance: you get made whole, not rich. The goal is to put you back where you were financially right before the loss, no better, no worse. That's why you can't insure a $20,000 car for $80,000 and cash in. Insurance reimburses a loss; it doesn't hand out winnings.

Insurers like risks that are accidental (due to chance, not intentional) and definite and measurable (you can pin down when, where, and how much). Add in 'predictable for large groups,' 'not catastrophic to the insurer,' and 'affordable premium,' and you've got the recipe for an insurable risk. A loss someone causes on purpose? Not insurable.

ACV pays what the damaged property was actually worth at the time of loss: replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. It leaves the insured to absorb the depreciation. Hook: ACV equals replacement cost minus depreciation, today's worn-down value.

Replacement cost coverage pays to rebuild or replace with new property of like kind and quality, with no depreciation subtracted, so the insured isn't out-of-pocket for wear and tear. It usually requires meeting a coinsurance or insurance-to-value condition. Hook: replacement cost pays new-for-old, depreciation ignored.

Market value reflects what the property would sell for, including the land and location-driven demand, while replacement cost is purely the cost to rebuild the structure. The two can differ widely. Hook: market value includes the land and the neighborhood; replacement cost is just bricks and labor.

Depreciation is the loss in a property's value from age, use, and obsolescence. It's subtracted from replacement cost to arrive at actual cash value. Hook: depreciation is the wear-and-tear value the insurer subtracts under ACV.

With agreed value, the parties set the insured amount up front (often for hard-to-value items like fine art), and that agreed figure is paid for a total loss, with the coinsurance requirement waived. Hook: agreed value locks in the payout amount ahead of time, no coinsurance fight later.

Under named perils, the insured must show the loss was caused by a listed peril. Under open perils (all-risk or special form), coverage is presumed unless the insurer proves an exclusion applies, so the burden shifts to the insurer. Open perils is the broader coverage. Hook: named perils, the insured proves it's covered; open perils, the insurer proves it's excluded.

A named perils policy covers only the perils it specifically lists, such as fire, lightning, windstorm, or theft. If the cause isn't named, there's no coverage. Hook: named perils covers only what's on the list.

Open perils coverage protects against all direct physical losses unless a peril is specifically excluded, making it broader than named perils. The exclusions list defines what's left out. Hook: open perils covers everything except what's specifically excluded.

A direct loss is the immediate physical damage a peril causes, like a fire burning a building. It contrasts with indirect (consequential) losses that follow from it. Hook: direct loss is the physical damage itself, the fire burning the house.

An indirect, or consequential, loss is the financial fallout that follows a direct loss, like the income a business loses while closed for repairs. Business income (interruption) coverage addresses it. Hook: indirect loss is the ripple effect, the income lost after the physical damage.

HO-3 insures the dwelling and other structures on an open-perils basis (covered unless excluded) but covers personal property on a named-perils basis. That split is the reason it is the go-to homeowners form. Hook: HO-3 is open perils on the house, named perils on the stuff inside.

HO-4, the Contents Broad Form, is the renters or tenants policy. It covers the tenant's personal property and liability but not the building, which the landlord insures. Hook: HO-4 is the renters form, contents and liability, no building.

HO-6 covers condominium and co-op unit owners. It insures personal property and provides limited building coverage for improvements inside the unit, since the association's master policy covers the structure itself. Hook: HO-6 is the condo form, your belongings plus the walls-in.

HO-8 fits older homes whose replacement cost far exceeds market value. It settles dwelling losses on a modified, functional, or actual cash value basis instead of full replacement cost, which keeps the coverage affordable and realistic. Hook: HO-8 is for older homes and pays on a modified or ACV basis, not full replacement.

Both forms cover the dwelling on open perils, but the HO-5 upgrades personal property to open perils as well, while the HO-3 keeps personal property on named perils. The HO-5 is the broadest standard homeowners form. Hook: HO-5 takes the HO-3 and upgrades the contents to open perils too.

The HO-2 Broad Form covers both the dwelling and personal property on a named-perils basis, using the broad list of covered perils. It is narrower than the HO-3, which opens the dwelling up to open perils. Hook: HO-2 is named perils on everything, the broad list applied to both house and contents.

Coverage A insures the dwelling itself, the house and structures attached to it. Hook: Coverage A is the dwelling, the house itself.

Coverage B insures detached structures such as a garage, shed, or fence, usually for 10% of the Coverage A limit. The owner can raise it by endorsement if needed. Hook: Coverage B is detached structures, normally 10% of the dwelling limit.

Coverage C usually equals about 50% of the Coverage A dwelling limit, though the percentage can be adjusted. It covers the insured's belongings. Hook: Coverage C, personal property, runs about 50% of the dwelling limit.

Coverage D pays additional living expenses and fair rental value when a covered loss makes the home unfit to live in, covering the extra cost of hotels, meals, and similar expenses while repairs are made. Hook: Coverage D keeps a roof over your head, the extra living costs while your home is fixed.

Part A is Liability Coverage, the part that pays for bodily injury and property damage the insured causes to others. It is the core of the auto policy and the coverage states require. Hook: Part A is liability, what you owe others, and it comes first in the PAP.

Part D, Coverage for Damage to Your Auto, is the physical damage section that pays for damage to the insured's own car under collision and other-than-collision coverage. Part A handles liability to others, not your own vehicle. Hook: Part D is the D in damage to your own auto.

Part B is Medical Payments coverage, which pays reasonable medical expenses for the insured and passengers hurt in an auto accident, regardless of fault. Hook: Part B is for bodies, the medical payments part.

Part C is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage, which protects the insured when an at-fault driver has no liability insurance or not enough of it. Hook: Part C covers you when the other driver Can't pay.

Liability coverage responds when the insured is legally responsible for injuring someone else or damaging their property, and it also pays the cost of defending the insured. It does not pay for the insured's own car. Hook: liability pays the other guy, both his injuries and his property.

In split limits the first number is the per-person bodily injury cap, the second is the per-accident bodily injury cap, and the third is the property damage cap per accident. So 100/300/50 is 100,000 per person, 300,000 per accident, 50,000 for property. Hook: split limits read per person, per accident, then property damage.

A combined single limit gives one pool of money per accident that can be used for bodily injury and property damage in any combination, instead of separate per-person and per-accident caps. It offers more flexibility on large losses. Hook: combined single limit is one bucket for everything per accident.

The first claim is capped at the 25,000 per-person limit, the other two ($20,000 and $15,000) are under that cap and paid in full, summing to 60,000. But the 50,000 per-accident bodily injury limit caps the total payout at 50,000. Hook: apply the per-person cap first, then the per-accident cap can still trim the total.

Liability coverage includes the insurer's duty to defend the insured against covered claims, and those defense costs are usually paid in addition to the policy limits, not subtracted from them. Hook: liability buys you a lawyer, and the defense cost normally sits on top of your limit.

Medical Payments is a no-fault coverage that pays reasonable and necessary medical (and sometimes funeral) expenses for the insured and occupants of the covered auto, no matter who caused the accident. Hook: Med Pay pays your people's medical bills, fault not required.

The dwelling policy is built for residences that fall outside standard homeowners eligibility, especially rentals and non-owner-occupied homes, plus seasonal or older dwellings. Homeowners forms assume the owner lives there. Hook: the DP is the rental and non-owner-occupied house policy.

Unlike the homeowners policy, the dwelling policy is primarily a property form and does not build in personal liability. An insured who wants it adds a liability endorsement. Hook: the DP is property-only out of the box; liability is a bolt-on.

An owner-occupant of a typical home is the target customer for a homeowners policy, which bundles broad property and liability coverage. The dwelling policy is the fallback for homes that do not fit homeowners. Hook: live there yourself and qualify, you want homeowners, not a DP.

Dwelling policies fill the gap for properties homeowners forms will not write: rentals, seasonal or secondary homes, vacant dwellings, and older homes. The DP is narrower, not richer, than homeowners. Hook: the DP is the answer when the home does not qualify for homeowners.

The dwelling program has three standard forms: DP-1 Basic, DP-2 Broad, and DP-3 Special, in increasing order of coverage breadth. The HO numbers belong to the homeowners program. Hook: dwelling forms are 1 Basic, 2 Broad, 3 Special.

The DP-1 is the narrowest form: it insures a short list of named perils and generally pays losses on an actual cash value basis (replacement cost minus depreciation). Hook: DP-1 is basic, named perils paid at ACV.

The DP-3 Special Form insures the dwelling and other structures on an open-perils basis, meaning all causes of loss are covered except those specifically excluded. It is the broadest of the dwelling forms. Hook: DP-3 is special, open perils on the structure.

Among dwelling forms, the DP-3 gives the broadest protection on the structure by covering open perils. The DP-2 is broad but still named-perils, and the DP-1 is the narrowest. Hook: broadest dwelling form is the DP-3, open perils on the building.

Coverage A is the dwelling, the main structure on the described location. It mirrors Coverage A in homeowners. Hook: in any dwelling or homeowners form, Coverage A is the dwelling.

Coverage C is personal property belonging to the named insured. On a rental dwelling it covers the owner's property at the location, not the tenant's belongings, which the tenant insures separately. Hook: Coverage C is personal property, the insured's stuff.

An umbrella sits on top of the home and auto policies, adding a high layer of liability limits and broadening coverage for some claims the underlying policies exclude. It is excess liability, not property coverage. Hook: the umbrella is extra liability stacked above your home and auto.

Umbrellas require the insured to carry stated minimum underlying limits (for example on auto and homeowners liability). The umbrella then picks up above those limits. Hook: keep your required underlying limits, or the umbrella will not sit on top.

When a loss is covered by the umbrella but not the underlying policy, the insured pays a self-insured retention (much like a deductible) and the umbrella covers the rest. Hook: no underlying coverage means the umbrella kicks in after your self-insured retention.

A commercial umbrella adds limits above primary liability lines like CGL, business auto liability, and employers liability. It is excess liability, not excess property coverage. Hook: the commercial umbrella tops up the liability lines, not property.

Because flood is excluded from standard property forms, owners buy it through the NFIP or a private flood insurer. Hook: flood is its own policy, NFIP or private, never the homeowners form.

The NFIP is a federal program run through FEMA, offering flood insurance in communities that adopt and enforce floodplain management rules. Private insurers may sell and service it under write-your-own arrangements. Hook: NFIP is federal flood insurance, available where the community participates.

NFIP flood coverage typically does not take effect until about 30 days after purchase, which discourages buying only when a flood is imminent. Limited exceptions apply (such as loan-related purchases). Hook: NFIP usually makes you wait about 30 days, no buying ahead of the storm.

Standard property forms exclude earth movement, but earthquake coverage can be added by endorsement or bought separately, commonly with a deductible expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount. The NFIP covers flood, not quake. Hook: earthquake is excluded but buy-back-able, usually with a percentage deductible.

Scheduling valuables like jewelry, furs, or fine arts is done on a personal articles floater, which is a personal inland marine form. Hook: the personal articles floater is inland marine for your valuables.

A floater insures scheduled items for an agreed or appraised value on a broad, open-perils basis, getting past the low special theft sublimits a homeowners policy places on jewelry. Hook: schedule the ring on a floater to beat the homeowners jewelry sublimit.