Here ia little A to Z of smallprint jargon used by the Insurance folk to befuddle us.

Accident Year - This is the actual year when you had the accident. Seems obvious I know but if you had an accident on December 31st and reported it to the Insurance company on the 1st of January, the "Accident Year" is the previous year. Does it get more interesting than this? Well, yes, some of the others are better.

Act of God - Well, they don't necessarily mean "God", they mean nature, really. So an act of God is something unpreventable and unpredictable that would cause loss or damage to buildings, land or vehicles. You know the sort of thing: Hurricanes, Tornados, Whirlwinds, and so on.

Actuary - We at Insurance stall have met a lot of these chaps. Mostly they are mathematicians who specialise in statistical analysis of large amounts of data. In other words thyey look at all the policies and all the claims and they figure out correlations, such as ladies under 30 are safer drivers than men under 30. That sort of thing. They assess risks in other words, and then they make the pricing structures, so when you enter your occupation and suddenly the price goes up, you know who to blame.

Agent - In insurance, there are two types of agents: independent and exclusive. You can probably guess the rest. The independant agent can get you insurance from any one of a number of insurance companies he or she has rates for. The exclusive agent just works for one company. Of course, because of the web-savvy buyer, there are far fewer of these folk around.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - This is an alternative to going to court if you need to settle a dispute. These include arbitration and mediation. In arbitration, you both agree to be bound by the judgement of the arbiter, whereas the mediator tries to reach agreement, Kissinger style.

Approved person - Someone who works for an Insurance company who has been approved by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to perform a formal insurance function.

Association of British Insurers (ABI) - These people represent the interests of the UK’s insurance industry. They try to inform and educate the public (us) and join in debates on insurance issues.

Buildings Insurance - a policy that covers you against some of the building losses or damages you may suffer, up to the limit of the rebuild value of your house. Note, it is your responsibility to make sure the sum insured is correct and to update this at renewal. If you get this wrong deliberately it can invalidate your policy.

Comprehensive Insurance - Means all things to all men. Generally used for Car Insurance it justr means that the policy covers a broad range of risks. But these days, most comprehensive policies are different.

Contents Insurance - a policy that gives you cover for your posessions and in general the contents of your house, and tends to include damage, theft or loss of things like carpets, furniture, freezer contents, jewellery and cash etc. Usually, the policy will have a maximum limit for each category of cover - eg Freezer contents up to £100

Usually, you can buy Buildings and Contents insurance together in a combined policy, and many companies give you a discount for taking out both together.

Excess - The specific amount you must pay yourself toward the cost of a claim.

Insurance Broker - An insurance expert who gives advice on the subject as well as arranging cover for you with a company. In return, though, the Insurer pays the broker, so some people worry that the broker is really an agent for the insurer and not for the customer.

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) - The government get a portion of your premium, this like VAT for insurance.

No Claims Discount - this is a discount you get on your premium, depending on how many years you have been claim free.

Premium - the cost or price of the policy.

Schedule - a document the insurer sends you to describe what cover you've bought and on what conditions. It's always worth checking this document to see if there are any "endorsements" - these are conditions.

Third Party - This would be a person who makes a claim against you, or someone you make a claim against.

Third Party Insurance - This is a policy that covers you against a liability you may incur to another person. Every driver in the UK has to be covered for third party motor insurance as a minimum, just to drive a car. Then, if you damage someone else's car or injure someone, your third party insurance will pay for any damages.