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GAAP. See Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Gatekeeper. A term sometimes used to refer to the primary care physician in a managed care environment, because of the responsibility to oversee and coordinate the patient's overall care and the fact that the gatekeeper must authorize all referrals to specialists or other services. Without this referral, coverage may be denied by the health plan.

General Account. All of an insurer's assets other than those allocated to a separate account.

General Agency System. A marketing system particularly used in the field of life insurance, in which an agent has responsibility for a given geographic area.

General Damages. Compensation paid to a claimant for losses that cannot be specifically identified, such as those for pain and suffering.

General Liability Insurance. See Liability Insurance.

Generally Accepting Accounting Principles (GAAP). Standards of accounting established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the Financial Accounting Standards Board and in other recognized accounting literature.

GIC. See Guaranteed Investment Contract.

GPW. See Gross Premiums Written.

Grace Period. The period of time given for the payment of an overdue premium without causing a policy to lapse. The policy remains in force during this interval.

Gross Negligence. An aggravated form of negligence characterized by the intentional failure to act as a prudent and reasonable person under similar circumstances with reckless disregard for an act's consequences.

Gross Premiums Written (GPW). The sum of an insurer's direct premiums written and assumed premiums.

Group Annuity. A form of pension plan provided on a group basis, usually for employees within a business organization, under which annuities are provided upon retirement.

Group Deferred Annuity. A contract for retirement benefits in which an entire group of employees is underwritten, as opposed to a single annuity for each employee.

Group Deposit Administration Annuity. A pension plan funding instrument in which contributions paid by an employer accumulate at interest and, upon retirement, an immediate annuity is purchased for the employee.

Group Life Insurance. Life insurance provided on a group basis, usually for employees within a business organization, through a single master policy.

Group Model HMO. An HMO that contracts with a multispecialty medical group to provide care for HMO members; members are required to receive medical care from a physician within the group unless a referral is made outside the network.

Guaranteed Investment Contract (GIC). An agreement under which an investor, usually a pension fund, places assets with an insurance company, which guarantees the return of principal plus payment of interest at a stipulated rate. While many variables can enter into the agreement, such as the amounts to be deposited and the duration of the contract, all GICs require that the principal be repaid along with the guaranteed interest credited on the deposits. GICs come in many forms. The simplest GICs are "bullet" contracts under which the funds are returned in a lump sum. Other contracts allow for payouts over time. GICs also may differ according to deposit methods (lump sum or "window" periods) and maturity (ranging from one to ten years). Additionally, in recent years, companies have offered indexed or floating rate GICs in addition to the fixed-rate instruments. The primary noninsurance competition for GICs is the Bank Investment Contract (BIC), which is particularly popular for maturities of less than three years.

Guaranteed Purchase Option. The provision in a life insurance policy that grants the insured the option to purchase additional amounts of life insurance without evidence of insurability.

Guaranteed Renewable. A provision in a health insurance policy that grants the insured the option to renew the policy for a specified period.

Guarantor. An entity, such as an insurer, that promises to pay an obligation in the event the obligor fails to do so.

Guaranty Capital. Capital raised by a mutual insurer through the issuance of guaranty capital stock.

Guaranty Fund. A state fund that provides for the payment of the unpaid claims of insolvent insurers. Most guaranty funds are nonprofit associations established by state law and operated by the insurance industry, although a few are operated by state insurance regulators.