Glossary

A motor vehicle insurance law is any state law that addresses the manner in which third-party liability or first-party indemnity coverage must be offered, provided, or maintained with respect to a motor vehicle (e.g., a financial responsibility, compulsory insurance, uninsured/underinsured motorists (UM/UIM), or personal injury protection (PIP) law). In determining the distinction between what is an "auto" and thus covered under an auto liability policy and what is "mobile equipment" and thus subject to coverage under a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, it is important to note that any statute that could have a bearing on whether a court of law would find that a particular piece of equipment is a motor vehicle for purposes of determining liability would be included in the term "other motor vehicle insurance law." Thus, a motor vehicle registration law could be considered a motor vehicle insurance law.

A motor vehicle record (MVR) is a summary of a driver's convictions and accidents on file with their home state. If a state so chooses, it may also obtain conviction records for its citizens that are incurred in other jurisdictions. An MVR is one of the primary tools used in underwriting auto insurance.

Motor vehicle registration law is a statute that sets out the requirements for motor vehicles to be registered and/or licensed in the state. Typically, registration is required before a motor vehicle is operated in the state. These statutes also deal with the types of vehicles that are subject to the statute. Some portions of these statutes vary only slightly between one state and another, but some portions vary a great deal. An understanding of how these statutes define motor vehicle is key to understanding motor vehicle insurance laws.

The multi-period excess earnings (MPEE) method is a financial valuation model often used in valuing customer-related intangible assets that estimates revenues and cash flows derived from the intangible asset and then deducts portions of the cash flow that can be attributed to supporting assets, such as a brand name or fixed assets, that contributed to the generation of the cash flows. The resulting cash flow, which is attributable solely to the subject intangible asset, is then discounted at a rate of return commensurate with the risk of the asset to calculate a present value.

Multiemployer pension and benefit plans refer to employee pension and welfare plans involving more than one employer. Multiemployer plans are most often set up by manufacturing firms within the same industry or governmental entities that draw their workforce from unions. From a fiduciary liability underwriting standpoint, additional risks are posed by multiemployer benefit plans compared with those generated by single-employer programs. Since multiemployer plans are usually larger and more complex than single-employer plans, claim frequency and claim severity tend to be higher, a fact reflected in higher premium rates for multiemployer plans.

Multiple coordinated policies are an arrangement of workers compensation insurance coverage typically used in the residual market to ensure that workers leased through an employee leasing company/professional employer organization (PEO) are afforded coverage without gaps or overlaps. This is achieved by having the leasing company/PEO and each of its clients purchase separate policies that have a common expiration date and are written by a single insurer. Then the multiple coordinated policy endorsement is added to each policy, which specifies which leased employees are covered by that policy.

The multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is an employee welfare benefit plan involving two or more employers or any other arrangement that is established or maintained for the purpose of offering or providing participants or their beneficiaries, through the purchase of insurance or through self-insurance, medical, surgical, or hospital care, or benefits in the event of sickness, accident, disability, death, or unemployment, or vacation benefits, apprenticeship or other training programs, day care centers, scholarship funds, or prepaid legal service. Prior to 1983, if a MEWA was determined to be an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) covered plan, state regulation of the arrangement was precluded by ERISA's preemption provisions. On the other hand, if the MEWA was not an ERISA-covered plan, which was generally the case, ERISA's preemption provisions did not apply, and states were free to regulate the entity in accordance with applicable state law.

Multiple indemnity refers to a life insurance policy provision that specifies the payment of some multiple of the face value (e.g., 100 or 200 percent) when the insured's death is caused by certain types of accidents.

Multiple protection insurance is a combination of whole life and term insurance paying some multiple of the amount of protection.

While traditional insurance contracts have one trigger—a physical event or occurrence that activates coverage—multiple trigger contracts are designed to respond to both physical hazard-type events and resultant financial movements. These financial movements can be any benchmark against which the firm measures its financial viabilities, such as its stock price, quarterly earnings, internal rate of return, etc. For example, a multiple trigger program could cover property loss due to fire, windstorm, etc., and a reduction in quarterly earnings that results from the physical event.