Immediate annuity An annuity that begins to make income payments immediately (or soon after) after the first premium is paid, as opposed to a deferred annuity.

Incapacity The inability to properly care for one's property and/or person, or to make or communicate rational decisions concerning one's affairs.

Incidents of Ownership A policyowner's rights under a life insurance policy, including the right to change the beneficiary and the right to surrender the policy for the cash value.

Income in Respect of a Decedent All gross income that the decedent had a right to receive, but did not receive, prior to death such as uncollected wages, deferred compensation, and pension benefits. These income amounts are reported on the fiduciary return or the beneficiary's tax return.

Income Protection Allowance An allowance that is based on the living costs of those family members who are not attending post secondary school. The allowance is included when calculating the expected family contribution as part of an application for federal student aid.

Income Replacement Benefit in disability insurance policies where an injured or sick wage earner receives a monthly income payment that is sufficient to replace a percentage of lost earnings.

Indemnity The principle upon which all property/casualty insurance contracts are based. According to this principle, the objective of insurance is to restore the insured to the same financial position after a loss that he/she was in prior to the loss.

Indemnity Plan A type of health insurance plan that provides reimbursement of covered medical expenses and gives plan participants considerable freedom to choose their own health care providers.

Independent Agent A contractor who represents different insurance companies, is not controlled by any one company, and earns commissions from policies sold.

Indirect Loss A loss that arises from a peril, but is not directly and immediately caused by it.