Fort Myers & Naples Insurance | (239) 594-9567

We all know plain English isn’t a strong point of insurance companies.  Some of the terms used don’t make much sense until you know them, which is why we have compiled this short list of the most popular terms we use.

Actual cash value – The current value of the car right now.

Anti-theft device – An alarm, immobilizer or any other approved device that deters theft.

Assigned risk insurance -Insurance issued for high risk drivers in states where insurance is mandatory.  Insurance companies operating in these states have to have a given number of these drivers on their books.

Auto replacement coverage – Supplement that allows for your entire vehicle to be completely repaired or replaced, regardless of cost to the insurance company.

Bodily injury liability coverage – Covers third party personal injuries if involved in a crash with you.

Betterment – This is where damage can be repaired using higher specification parts than were present on the vehicle at the time.  Usually involves the owner paying the difference in cost.

Collision coverage – The most basic auto insurance.  Replaces or repairs your vehicle in the event of a collision.

Comprehensive insurance - The “everything else” coverage.  Covers events that collision coverage doesn’t like theft and vandalism.

Deductible – This is a voluntary premium excess you offer to pay before the insurance has to.  The higher the deductible, the lower the premium.

Gap car insurance - Mainly for cars under finance.  It insures you for the difference between what the car is worth and the amount of finance owed.

Good driver plan – An incentive offered by some insurance companies for being a good driver over a specific time period.

Liability insurance – Another insurance staple.  This covers you for losses and claims from third parties through your proven negligence.

Passive restraint system - While not passive, this covers things like seatbelts, airbags, impact protection and other systems that are design to protect the occupants of a vehicle.

No-fault auto insurance – Replaces liability insurance in some states.  It covers you and your vehicle regardless of fault.  It costs more, but covers more.  It does have defined limits though so read the small print.

Total loss – This is where the cost of repairing the car exceeds the nominal value of it.  The insurer will pay the insured or current value and will then own the car.

Uninsured motorist coverage – Essential for most people.  With premiums rising, more people are going without insurance.  This covers you if you have an accident with an uninsured driver.

Now those are just some of the terms used frequently in the insurance industry.  So hopefully when dealing with agents, or the companies themselves you will have more of an idea of what they’re talking about.

VeriSign's iDefense security lab has published a report with technical details about the recent cyberattack that hit Google and over 30 other companies. The iDefense researchers traced the attack back to its origin and also identified the command-and-control servers that were used to manage the malware.

The cyber-assault came to light on Tuesday when Google disclosed to the public that the Gmail Web service was targeted in a highly-organized attack in late December. Google said that the intrusion attempt originated from China and was executed with the goal of obtaining information about political dissidents, but the company declined to speculate about the identity of the perpetrator.

Citing sources in the defense contracting and intelligence consulting community, the iDefense report unambiguously declares that the Chinese government was, in fact, behind the effort. The report also says that the malicious code was deployed in PDF files that were crafted to exploit a vulnerability in Adobe's software.

“The source IPs and drop server of the attack correspond to a single foreign entity consisting either of agents of the Chinese state or proxies thereof,” the report says.

The researchers have determined that there are significant similarities between the recent attack and a seemingly related one that was carried out in July against a large number of US companies. Both attacks were apparently managed through the same command-and-control servers.

“The servers used in both attacks employ the HomeLinux DynamicDNS provider, and both are currently pointing to IP addresses owned by Linode, a US-based company that offers Virtual Private Server hosting. The IP addresses in question are within the same subnet, and they are six IP addresses apart from each other,” the report says. “Considering this proximity, it is possible that the two attacks are one and the same, and that the organizations targeted in the Silicon Valley attacks have been compromised since July.”

If the report's findings are correct, it suggests that the government of China has been engaged for months in a massive campaign of industrial espionage against US companies.

Update: Adobe disputes iDefense's claim that PDFs were used to deploy the malware. In a statement issued today, Adobe says that they have found no evidence that their technology was used as an attack vector in this recent incident. This is supported by independent research conducted by security firm McAfee, which has found evidence that a vulnerability in Internet Explorer—but not Acrobat Reader—was exploited in the attack.