Glossary

A browse-wrap agreement is a non-negotiated contract, often posted inconspicuously on a website, that contains the terms and conditions governing how a visitor can use the website but does not require any express conduct on the part of the visitor to manifest assent to the terms.

A buffer layer is any layer of insurance (or risk retention) that resides between the primary (burning) layer and the excess layers.

A builders risk policy is a property insurance policy that is designed to cover property in the course of construction.

The building and personal property coverage form is the key Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), direct damage commercial property coverage form.

The Building Codes Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS), developed by Insurance Office Services, Inc. (ISO), categorizes communities according to the adequacy of their building codes and the effectiveness of building code enforcement. Communities are graded from 1 (indicating exemplary commitment to building code enforcement) to 10.

These are established by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), in its Commercial Lines Manual (CLM) for purposes of developing rates for insuring commercial property based on susceptibility to damage by fire. The six ISO CLM building construction categories and the associated ISO construction codes, from the least fire-resistive category to the most fire-resistive category, are as follows. Frame. Exterior walls of wood, brick veneer, stone veneer, wood ironclad, or stucco on wood (Construction Code 1) Joisted masonry. Exterior walls of masonry material (adobe, brick, concrete, gypsum block, hollow concrete block, stone, tile, or similar materials) with combustible floor and roof (Construction Code 2) Noncombustible. Exterior walls, floor, and supports made of metal, asbestos, gypsum, or other noncombustible materials (Construction Code 3) Masonry noncombustible. Same as joisted masonry except that the floors and roof are of metal or other noncombustible materials (Construction Code 4) Modified fire resistive. Exterior walls, floors, and roof of masonry or fire-resistive material with a fire resistance rating of at least 1 hour but less than 2 hours (Construction Code 5) Fire resistive. Exterior walls, floors, and roof of masonry or fire-resistive materials with a fire resistance rating of at least 2 hours (Construction Code 6) The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) uses nearly identical building construction categories in its materials addressing the development of rates for insuring commercial property in several of its programs.

Building information modeling (BIM) is an integrated technology for creating a pre-construction three-dimensional digital model of the physical and functional aspects of a building from initial design planning through operation.

Building ordinance coverage is for loss caused by enforcement of ordinances or laws regulating construction and repair of damaged buildings.

Building rate is the rate charged for property insurance on a building as opposed to the rate charged for property insurance on the contents of a building.

A bulk carrier is a ship used to transport bulk cargo, such as coal, ore, and grains.