Glossary

A vacancy permit endorsement is a property insurance endorsement that suspends some or all of the coverage restrictions that apply to buildings that have been vacant for more than a specified time period (typically, 60 days).

A vacancy provision, found in most commercial property policies, severely restricts coverage in connection with buildings that have been vacant for a specified number of days (typically, 60 days). Some forms also restrict coverage in connection with buildings that have been unoccupied for a specified number of days.

Vacant refers to a building that contains little to no furniture or other personal property. Many property provisions contain a vacancy provision that reduces or eliminates coverage when the property is vacant for a designated period of time. Two similar terms—vacant and unoccupied—have specific meanings in the language of insurance and are specifically defined in some policies. A vacant building contains little or no furniture or other personal property. Even if it is not vacant, a building is unoccupied when people are absent. The wording in many property insurance policies limits reduces or entirely eliminates coverage when a building has been vacant (or, in some forms, vacant or unoccupied) for a designated period of time such as 45 or 60 days.

Vacation liability is a motor motor home insurance coverage. It provides personal liability coverage only when the motor home is parked off public roads and while the unit is used for recreational purposes. It does not overlap with or apply to any loss payable under automobile liability coverage. For example, if the insured's friend slips on the step of his parked travel trailer and is injured, coverage is provided under the vacation liability option. It also does not apply if motor home full-timers coverage is purchased instead. Unlike full-timers coverage, which grants broad personal and premises liability coverage, vacation liability applies only to a loss at the campsite or at the motor home. Thus, some insurers refer to this as campsite liability.

Valuation papers and records coverage is inland marine coverage that pays the cost to reconstruct damaged or destroyed valuable papers and records. "Valuable papers and records" usually is defined to include almost all forms of printed documents or records except money or securities; data processing programs, data, and media are usually excluded.

Valuation is a provision in a property or inland marine policy that specifies the basis of indemnification when property is destroyed. An actual cash value valuation clause stipulates that the insurer will deduct depreciation from the cost to replace the property, whereas a replacement cost valuation clause stipulates that there will be no deduction for depreciation.

The valuation date is the cutoff date for adjustments made to paid claims and reserve estimates in a loss report. For example, a workers compensation loss report for the 20x3 policy year that has a 20x5 valuation date includes all claim payments and changes in loss reserves made prior to the 20x5 valuation date.

Value-added services are services provided in conjunction with the sale of insurance that go beyond the mere provision of insurance. The nature and quality of value-added services provided by an agent/broker or insurer are important factors for an insured in selecting between competing organizations. These may entail risk control services or claims management services. Value-added services provided by employment practices liability (EPL) insurers, for example, seek to prevent and control the kinds of claims covered by EPL insurance (EPLI) policies and include items such as human resource audits, training and reference manuals, sample employee handbooks, loss prevention software, and "hotlines." Hotlines are manned by live human resource professionals who provide advice on handling employment-related issues and incidents.

Value-at-risk is an approach to risk used in banking and investment but less often by insurers and reinsurers. It involves determining the worst loss expected over a target horizon within a given confidence interval.

Value-based care refers to a form of medical care delivery in which physicians and hospitals are compensated based on achieving positive results rather than on the sheer quantity of medical services they provide. Value-based care seeks to reduce both initial hospital admissions as well as hospital readmissions for chronic conditions, ultimately improving the overall health of patients and maintaining that improvement over time. Under value-based systems, patients may be advised about and periodically monitored concerning the lifestyle choices (smoking, diet, exercise, etc.) that are impacting their conditions, as opposed to just receiving a prescription, for example. In contrast, the current (and still predominant) delivery model for medical care in the United States is based on what is known as fee-for-service.