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UMBRELLA POLICY - A special form of liability policy designed to protect the insured for certain unknown contingencies over and above the normal coverages and to provide excess insurance.

UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE - A form of insurance that pays for the bodily injury or  property damage caused by the owner or operator of an inadequately insured  automobile.

UNDERWRITER - An underwriter is an employee of an insurance  company who looks at an insurance application and decides whether or not the  insurance company can or should provide the applicant with insurance, based on  the risk that person presents.

UNDERWRITING RULES - The rules used by insurance companies  to assess the risk they are taking on by insuring a particular customer. These  rules are set individually by insurance companies.

UNINSURABLE PERILS - These are events or situations for  which insurance coverage cannot be purchased. The damage as a result of these  incidents is usually predictable or preventable. For example, if you build your  house on a flood plain, your house will, at some point, be flooded. Flooding,  in this case, is an uninsurable peril.

UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE - A form of insurance that pays for the  bodily injury or property damage caused by the owner or operator of an  uninsured automobile. In some parts of the country, this is referred to as  “Section D.”

UNOCCUPIED - Where the premises contain contents but no human beings, such persons being temporarily away from the premises, on vacation for example, the premises are said to be unoccupied. This is distinguishable from Vacant in that in vacancy, the contents have been moved out leaving nothing but the building.

UNPROTECTED - A property located in an area not regularly serviced by a fire department.

UTMOST GOOD FAITH - A phrase in a legal document calling for the highest standards of integrity on the part of the insured and the insurer.