General account

A general account "generally" refers to the combined or aggregate investments and other assets of an insurance company available to pay claims and benefits to which insureds or policyholders are entitled. The general account may also be considered everything that is not represented by a separate accounts of the firm, if such separate account has been established by the company. Should a firm have no separate accounts, then its only account is the general account. The term should not be thought of narrowly in terms of a bank account or general ledger account, but rather the broader concept introduced in the first sentence.