Glossary

Selected Healthcare Terminology

Accident

An unexpected, unusual and unforeseen event that happens without intention or design, excluding known complications or side effects of medical or dental treatment.

Activities of Daily Living

Activities that most people can perform for themselves during the normal course of a day, such as eating, getting dressed, bathing, personal hygiene, transferring from bed and chair, and moving inside the home.

Bermuda Fee Schedule

A fee schedule for any benefit listing the amounts payable for any surgical, anaesthetic, medical, diagnostic or dental procedures provided in-hospital and approved by the Minister of Health.

Bermuda Resident

An insured person normally resident in Bermuda for at least six months in any calendar year or for whom a subsidy is payable under the Health Insurance Act.

Classification

The following classifications are used to describe the level of coverage provided:

2 Hospital accommodation

3 Hospital accommodation

4 Hospital accommodation (Employer Groups only)

A Employee or individual policyholder insured for self only

B Employee or individual policyholder insured for self and non-working dependent spouse only

C Employee or individual policyholder insured for self, non-working dependent spouse and dependent child(ren)

D Employee or individual policyholder insured for self and dependent child(ren)

Terminology for Employer Group Health Insurance customers 

E Employee insured for self and working dependent spouse only, subject to the proviso that the employee’s dependent spouse is insured elsewhere as an employee for Act Benefits

F Employee insured for self, working dependent spouse and dependent child(ren), subject to the proviso that the employee’s dependent spouse is insured elsewhere as an employee for Act Benefits

G Employee insured for Act Benefits only

H Employee and dependent spouse insured for Act Benefits only

Consultation

An evaluation provided at the request of another physician with the goal of recommending a course of care or determining if the patient’s condition warrants transfer to specialty services.

Custodial Care

The care and assistance, including room and board, that is given principally for personal hygiene or for assistance in activities of daily living and can, according to generally accepted medical standards, be performed by persons who have no medical training.

Examples of custodial care include help in walking, getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, feeding and use of toilet facilities, food preparation and supervision of medication that does not entail or require the continued presence of trained medical personnel.

Dependent Child

A dependent child is an unmarried natural child, step-child, child of a dependent spouse, or legally adopted child who is under age 19, or under age 26, if enrolled in and in full-time attendance at, a recognised school, college or university, or over the age of 19, but is incapable of self support due to a mental or physical handicap.

Such child must be dependent on the insured parent for support.

Dependent Spouse

A legally married spouse or a person who is living with the insured person in a recognised conjugal relationship, and has so lived for at least 12 months.

Diagnostic Service

Procedures or laboratory measurements that can help reveal a diagnosis.

Discounted Rate

A negotiated reduction in the fees that a service provider would normally charge for services rendered.

Eligible Expenses

The actual expenses incurred by an insured person that are reasonable for medically necessary care and services, are administered, prescribed or ordered by a physician or other recognised provider of service, and at least a portion of which is considered to be an eligible expense under the policy.

Emergency Care

Initial treatment, ordered or provided by a physician or dentist, of a traumatic bodily injury resulting from an accident, or an acute, unexpected or unforeseen sickness requiring immediate non-discretionary medical care, and of such a nature that failure to render immediate care could reasonably result in placing the insured person’s life in jeopardy, or cause serious or permanent impairment to the bodily function of the insured person.

Emergency Overseas Treatment

Emergency care provided to an insured person while resident or travelling outside Bermuda.

Experimental and/or Investigational Treatment

Procedures, drugs, devices and supplies that have not yet gained acceptance by the medical community as standard care and treatment at the time the service is rendered.

Such care and treatment may include any treatment that is undergoing clinical investigation and is not generally recognised by the medical community in Bermuda, the United States and Canada as established and accepted practice, has not yet been approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Act in Bermuda, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, Health and Welfare – Canada (Food and Drug), and any other governmental agency in these jurisdictions for the purpose for which it is being prescribed, or is of uncertain therapeutic benefit, restricted to use in clinical trials, or of questionable safety and effectiveness for the insured person’s condition.

General Practitioner

Any physician who is not a specialist.

Health Insurance Act 1970

The Health Insurance Act 1970, its regulations, orders, rules and any amendments or additions thereto.

Health Insurance Act Benefits

Benefits detailed in the Health Insurance Act 1970.

Injury

Bodily injury caused by an accident occurring while the insurance policy is in force with respect to the insured person.

Late Applicant

An eligible Employee or Dependent who applies for coverage under this policy following the 31-day period of first becoming eligible for insurance.

Licenced, Certified or Registered

A provider of service who is currently licenced, certified or registered to practise the profession or provide the service, by the appropriate licencing or registration authority in the jurisdiction in which the services of such practitioner are rendered, and who is practising within the scope of such profession.

LifetimeLifetime, as used in reference to benefit maximums and limitations, is understood to mean while insured under the health insurance policy and will not be interpreted to mean the lifetime of the insured person.

Local Treatment & Services

Services rendered, or provider of services or another organisation located, in Bermuda.

Medically Necessary Care & Services

Care, treatment, services and supplies, other than personal comfort items, which are widely accepted by the medical profession as effective, appropriate and essential in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the particular sickness or injury and the most appropriate level of treatment consistent with the diagnosis or symptoms of such sickness or injury, based on generally recognised and accepted standards of healthcare.

Such care and services are not intended primarily for the convenience of the insured person, his physician, hospital or any other healthcare provider and are not conducted for research purposes.

Care, services and supplies are not “medically necessary” solely on the grounds that they have been prescribed, ordered, recommended or approved by a physician.

Mental & Nervous Disorder

A clinically significant behavioural or psychological syndrome that is associated with distress, impairment in one or more important areas of functioning, or with sufficiently increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.

Overseas Treatment/Provider

Services rendered, or provider of services, located outside Bermuda.

Physician

A doctor of medicine who is duly licenced to prescribe and administer medical and/or surgical treatment within the scope of his licence.

Policy Year

The first policy year is the period of time commencing on the Policy Effective Date and ending on April 30th next following such date. Any subsequent policy year is the 12-month period commencing on each Policy Renewal Date.

Preferred Provider Network

A healthcare benefit arrangement designed to supply services at a discounted cost by providing incentives for members to use designated healthcare providers who contract with the preferred provider network at a discount.

Preventive Care

Steps that can be taken to help ensure wellness, including the use of appropriate vaccinations and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits.

Provider of Service 

A licenced, certified or registered facility or practitioner of the healing arts who is acting within the scope of his licence and provides medical and/or dental care, treatment, services or supplies.

Sickness

An insured person’s illness or disease.

Specialist

A physician who is properly qualified in the speciality by virtue of training and/or experience in the speciality and appropriate certification by an internationally recognised speciality.

The Worker’s Compensation Act 1965

The Act that enables workers who are injured on the job to receive compensation from their employers.

Total Disability

A state of incapacity caused by bodily or mental injury, or sickness that requires the regular and personal attendance of a physician and prevents an insured person from performing or engaging in any gainful occupation or work for remuneration or profit, or performing at least three of the activities of daily living.

Usual & Customary Charge

A charge, which is not higher than the usual charge made by a service provider, and does not exceed the general level of charges made by providers of similar standing in the locality or geographical area where the charge is incurred.

Selected Pension & Investment Terminology

Additional Voluntary Contributions

Contributions over and above a member’s required contributions that provide additional benefits.

Alternative Fund

This class of investments combines several strategies that have low correlation to traditional asset classes (e.g. bonds and equities). Fund managers seek to deliver positive returns that are independent of the general direction of the market.

Annuitant

The person who receives periodic payments under the terms of an annuity contract.

Annuity

A series of payments made at stated intervals until a particular event occurs. This event is most commonly the end of a specified period or the death of the person receiving the annuity payments.

Beneficiary

A person entitled to a benefit under a pension plan, or who will become entitled on the happening of a specified event, usually the death of the member.

Bonds

Evidence of loans to corporations and governments. The borrowers promise to repay the loan by a certain date and to pay interest regularly to the investors in the interim.

Capital Appreciation

An increase in the market value of money or property.

Common Stock

Shares of ownership in a corporation; normally referred to simply as “Stock.”

Deferred Annuity

An annuity that commences at a future date.

Defined Contribution Plan

This is a type of insurance plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. The future benefits fluctuate on the basis of investment earnings.

Diversification

Spreading of risk by putting assets in several categories of investments.

Dollar Cost Averaging

The systematic investment of a fixed dollar amount at regular time intervals.

Eligibility

The conditions that must be met for a person to be a member of a pension plan.

Emerging Markets Equity Fund

World Emerging Markets Equity Funds seek growth by normally investing in equity securities from emerging markets of multiple, normally less developed countries. For example, the following exceptions usually apply: U.S., Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Western European countries.

Equities

Ownership interests possessed by shareholders in a corporation—stock, as opposed to bonds.

Fixed Income Fund

A fund specialising in investments that can produce current income and dividends.

Funding Direction

The strategy or fund selected for the purpose of investment of contributions (e.g. Conservative, Balanced or Aggressive.)

Fund Performance

Reflects a fund’s investment results.

Global Fund

Invest in both U.S. and foreign securities.

Growth Fund

A fund that focuses on capital appreciation rather than income as its investment goal.

Historical Yield

Refers to an investment’s actual return from income over a given period measured from the beginning of the period.

Income

Earnings, generally from interest or dividends, that are credited or paid to an investor.

Index

A benchmark, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index or the Morgan Stanley Capital Index World Index, against which performance is measured.

International/Global Fund

Invest in securities around the world.

Investment Objective

The stated goal of a fund. It helps determine the types of securities in which a portfolio invests, the expected returns and the level of risk.

Joint Life Last Survivor Annuity

An annuity payable until the last of two annuitants dies.

Large-cap (Capitalisation) Stocks

Companies with outstanding shares valued at $6 billion or more.

Liquidity

The ease with which an asset can be turned into cash. It is a central objective of money market funds.

Market Value

The current price of an asset, as indicated by the most recent price at which the asset was traded on the open market.

Money Market Fund

Seek to provide current income and maintain a stable net asset value by investing in short-term, high-grade securities. Investments in the fund are not guaranteed.

Mutual Fund

An investment company that invests the money of its shareholders in a (usually) diversified group of securities to achieve a specific objective over time.

National Pension Scheme Act 1999

The National Pension Scheme Act 1999 states that all employers, whether local, international or exempted, must provide, at a minimum, a private pension for every employee who is a Bermudian or a non-Bermudian spouse of a Bermudian (23 years of age or older) who works a minimum of 720 hours per calendar year. This pension scheme can be offered only by approved registered financial institutions, such as Argus.

Net Asset Value (NAV)

The market price of a mutual fund’s total assets (after deducting liabilities) per share. It is the price at which a shareholder would sell a fund’s shares.

Occupational Pension Scheme

Under a defined contribution scheme, you accumulate your own Retirement Account, and you make the investment decisions relating to that Retirement Account yourself. At retirement, your accumulated Retirement Account is used to provide you with an income for life. Under a defined contribution scheme, the level of benefit you receive will be determined largely by the level of contributions made by your employer and/or yourself and the investment performance of your chosen investment option.

Offshore

Offshore is an international term meaning out of your country (jurisdiction) of residence or citizenship.

Portfolio

The stocks, bonds and other assets owned by a mutual fund or other investor.

Portfolio Manager

An individual or an institutional investor responsible for deciding which securities to buy, hold or sell.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The amount investors pay for a stock in relation to the company’s earnings per share of outstanding stock.

Principal Value

Represents an investment’s original invested amount.

Prospectus

Describes the history, background of its managers, objectives, financial statements, eligible investments, charges and other essential facts an investor would need to make an informed decision concerning a fund.

Rate of Return

The percentage change in the value of an investment over a period, taking into account both the income from it and the change in its market value.

Rebalance

The periodical adjustment of an individual’s investments to align them with allocations determined by the individual or otherwise at the discretion of the fund manager.

Reinvestment

Using dividend or capital gain payments to purchase more shares instead of taking payments in cash.

Security

A form of ownership in an investment that can be bought and sold. Examples include stocks, bonds and money market obligations.

Share

A unit of ownership in a fund or a stock.

Shareholder

Owns shares of a mutual fund or a stock.

Small-cap (Capitalisation) Stocks

Issues with outstanding shares valued at $2 billion or less.

Specialised Fund

Specialised Equity Funds invest in securities of a specific industry or economic sector. Sectors include technology, real estate, gold, precious metals utilities, etc. The fund could be limited to one or more regions and/or countries.

Stock Fund

Generally seek to produce an increase in the value of their shares. Their objectives can range from moderate growth and moderate current income to long-term growth with income being incidental.

U.S. Government Securities

Securities issued by the U.S. government. Examples include Treasury notes, Treasury bills and Treasury bonds.

Yield

The percentage rate of return based on the annual dividends paid on a stock, a bond or a mutual fund.