Glossary of Terms for Agricultural Insurance and Rural Finance

This FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin contains a glossary of terms that define and explain terms used in agricultural insurance and rural finance.

The Glossary aims to facilitate:

• Dialogue amongst researchers, teachers and practitioners in the active fields of rural finance and agricultural insurance;
• Comparisons between systems in various countries operating these financial services.

The Glossary is in two sections:

The section, titled Agricultural Insurance, defines and explains the meanings of terms arranged in alphabetical order. These include terms such as:

• Accident: An unplanned event, unexpected and undersigned, which occurs suddenly and at a definite place.
• Accumulation: The concentration of risks in a similar area such that an insured event may result in several losses occurring at the same time.

The section, titled Rural Finance, defines and explains the meanings of terms in alphabetical order. These include terms such as:

• Access: Ability of a person or group to receive services on a timely and financially acceptable basis. Particularly of concern for persons, households and firms normally excluded from formal financial institutions and their services.
• Accounting period: The period of time at the end of which the accounts of a firm are closed and financial statements are prepared.