Language Perils
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ISSN 1533-8444
1998 Archives — Property / Casualty
Coverage Names in Sweden
Swedish
The aphorism “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” is alive and well when translating. Take, for example, some terms used in the Swedish property/casualty market. “Civilförsäkring,” literally “civil insurance,” is a general (though a bit old-fashioned) term for personal lines coverage (such as homeowners’, automobile, or pleasure craft insurance). “Förmögenhetsbrottsförsäkring,” literally “property crime insurance,” is actually “fidelity insurance.” “Garantiförsäkring,” literally “guarantee insurance,” is quite a telling example of the “little knowledge = danger” equation. A person who knows German might (quite logically) think: “Oh, this must be the same as the German ‘Garantieversicherung’.” Though the two words are morphological equivalents, the Swedish means “fidelity insurance,” while the German means “surety bond.”
Contributor:
Ronald Berg, Unirisk AB, Arlandastad; Staffan Mandorff, Mandorff Insurances Services AB, Arlandastad, Sweden
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Language_Perils/98property.htm#11c
First-Loss Insurance
Spanish, French
When you purchase first loss insurance in Argentina, you may be given a choice between “seguro a primer riesgo relativo” and “seguro a primer riesgo absoluto.” The first is subject to a coinsurance penalty (called “average” in British English); the second is free of such penalty. How can “first loss insurance” be subject to a coinsurance penalty, you ask. In “first loss insurance subject to coinsurance,” the policyholder warrants that the loss limit represents a specified percentage of the value at risk. If the reported value at risk is less than the actual value of risk at time of loss, a penalty is applied. That leads us to the word “coinsurance”. If you see “coaseguro” in Spanish-speaking Latin America, it may not refer to the penalty used in property insurance but to a pooling arrangement in which various insurers have accepted a portion of the liability. In Mexico, for example, “proporción indemnizable” may be used to refer to the penalty. That term is similar to “règle proportionnelle,” the French expression for coinsurance.
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Language_Perils/98property.htm#09b
Marine Insurance and Shipping in Holland
Dutch
When a marine insurance or shipping professional in Holland says “blading” to you, don’t expect to be invited out for some impromptu roller blading. “Blading” is a contraction of the English-language term “bill of lading.” The Dutch also understand and use the complete expression, as well as other English-language terms: “AWB” (air waybill), “GA” (general average), “all risks,” and “sellers interest only.” But if you want to do business in Holland, you will still have to navigate through some Dutch terms. A sampler: Transportverzekering (marine insurance), goederenverzekering (cargo insurance), zee-cascoverzekering (ocean marine hull insurance), and molest (a short word that embraces the concepts of war, warlike operations, strikes, riots, and civil commotion!).
Contributor:
Winfried Vermeij, Delta Lloyd Nuts Ohra NV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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this article, use:
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Language_Perils/98property.htm#11a
Surety Bonds in Brazil
Portuguese
Writing surety coverage in Brazil? Be prepared for some terminology surprises. The form is called “seguro de garantia,” or, literally “guarantee insurance.” The principal is “tomador,” the same word that may be used for “policyholder”; “obligee” is “segurado,” or “insured.”
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Language_Perils/98property.htm#09a
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