Insurability can mean either whether a particular type of loss (risk) can be insured in theory, or whether a particular client is insurable for by a particular company because of particular circumstance and the quality assigned by an insurance provider pertaining to the risk that a given client would have. An individual with very low insurability may be said to be uninsurable, and an insurance company will refuse to issue a policy to such an applicant. For example, an individual with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of 6 months would be uninsurable for term life insurance. This is because the probability is so high for the individual to die within the term of the insurance, that he/she would present far too high a liability for the insurance company. A similar, and stereotypical, example would be earthquake insurance in California. Insurability is sometimes an issue in case law of torts and contracts. It also comes up in issues involving tontines and insurance fraud schemes. In real property law and real estate, insurability of title means the realty is marketable. Characteristics of insurable risks Risks that can be insured by private companies typically share seven common characteristics. Large number of similar exposure units. Since insurance operates through pooling resources, the majority of insurance policies are provided for individual members of large classes, allowing insurers to benefit from the law of large numbers in which predicted losses are similar to the actual losses. Exceptions include Lloyd's of London, which is famous for insuring the life or health of actors, actresses and sports figures. However, all exposures will have particular differences, which may lead to different rates. Definite Loss. The loss takes place at a known time, in a known place, and from a known cause. The classic example is death of an insured person on a life insurance policy. Fire, automobile accidents, and worker injuries may all easily meet this criterion. Other types of losses may only be definite in theory. Occupational disease, for instance, may involve prolonged exposure to injurious conditions where no specific time, place or cause is identifiable. Ideally, the time, place and cause of a loss should be clear enough that a reasonable person, with sufficient information, could objectively verify all three elements. Accidental Loss. The event that constitutes the trigger of a claim should be fortuitous, or at least outside the control of the beneficiary of