In defining the scope of coverage, insurance policies rely on terms and phrases that have very special and often very specific meanings. Since these terms and phrases are usually repeated many times in the insurance policy, a single definition of the term or phrase is included in the definitions section of the policy instead of being repeated whenever the term is used. The reader is alerted when a defined term is used in the insurance policy, usually by its placement within quotation marks.
Since definitions may have a significant impact on the scope of coverage, they must be carefully reviewed when interpreting the policy’s coverage intent.