In group medical insurance, the insurer issues one main contract to the sponsoring entity—commonly an employer—covering the eligible group of employees. This single contract is called the master policy . The employer (or group sponsor) is the policyholder of the master contract, and it contains the controlling provisions: eligibility rules, benefits, limitations, exclusions, premium requirements, renewal provisions, and administrative terms.
Employees covered under the plan do not usually receive their own individual policies. Instead, each insured employee receives a certificate of insurance (sometimes called a certificate), which summarizes the essential coverage provisions and the benefits available to that employee under the master policy. The certificate is evidence of coverage, but it is not the controlling contract; the master policy governs.
Option A (“group policy”) is a generic phrase and can refer broadly to group insurance, but the specific term for the single contract issued to the employer is master policy . Option C is not a standard insurance term, and option D is incorrect because a “certificate” is issued to employees, not as the primary contract.
