Glossary

A mandated reporter is a professional who is legally required to report potential child abuse to authorities. In many states, because clergy members may be mandated reporters, pastoral counselors may be required to disclose any child abuse that is uncovered through counseling services. Clergy may be specifically listed as mandated reporters in certain state laws, or they may fall under mandated reporter laws more indirectly via wording that refers to "... any person...."

A mandatory arbitration provision is a provision in an insurance policy that requires an insured to submit disputes with the insurer (typically as respects the existence of coverage) to arbitration rather than to the traditional judicial system. Arbitration can be advantageous for insureds because it normally expedites the dispute resolution process—on a lower cost basis—compared with court systems. However, arbitration is generally even more beneficial for an insurer, because arbitrators, compared to juries, may be less apt to award large verdicts based on emotional issues.

A mandatory securities valuation reserve refers to a reserve required of life insurers by state laws to offset declines in valuations of securities held as admitted assets. The reserve requirement recognizes the fact that life insurance contracts span long periods and fluctuations in the values of insurers' investments could negatively affect loss reserves.

The manifestation theory is a coverage trigger theory in latent injury cases that holds that injury occurs when the injury becomes known, manifests itself to the injured party, is diagnosed by a physician, etc.

The manual premium is a premium calculated by applying an insured employer's payroll to the premium rates in an insurer's premium manual.

Manual rates are rates promulgated by a rating bureau, such as Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) (commercial property, general liability, commercial auto), and the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) (workers compensation), before application of any credits or deviations. This is a somewhat obsolete term. Such rates were referred to as "manual rates" because they were published in a rating manual. Today, the organizations once known as rating bureaus are often referred to as "insurance advisory organizations," and, in nearly all jurisdictions, they promulgate and publish in their manuals not final rates but advisory loss costs to be used in calculating rates. Most insurers that elect to use these loss costs furnish manual holders with a loss costs multiplier (reflecting that insurer's expenses and desired underwriting profit) to use in converting the manual loss costs to final rates.

Manufacturers and contractors insurance is now obsolete, but prior to the 1986 revision of the commercial general liability (CGL) policy, this form of insurance was used as a means of providing premises and operations coverage to manufacturers and certain types of contractors, primarily construction and installation contractors. Today, if an insurer wishes to exclude the products-completed operations hazard, it can do so by attaching the products-completed operations hazard exclusion endorsement. The insured can then purchase separate products and completed operations coverage.

Manufacturers output policy (MOP) is a broad all risks policy that provides a combination of commercial property and commercial inland marine coverages manufacturers and many other businesses need. MOPs were developed in the mid-1950s as a method of insuring in a single policy stock both during the manufacturing process and in transit. Because the MOP's combination of commercial property and commercial marine coverages met the needs of many different types of organizations, MOP eligibility also expanded over time to include many industrial, processing, and commercial operations. In recent years, the term "commercial output policy" and the "COP" acronym have begun to replace the term "manufacturers output policy" and the "MOP" acronym in the commercial insurance arena since they more accurately reflect the wide range of organizations that can be insured under this type of policy. The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) offers standard COP forms and rules for use by its member insurers. In addition, many insurers have developed their own COP forms and rules. COP premiums are typically developed using a distinctive rating system (referred to as a "deficiency point rating system"), which allows many insurers to be more competitive using a COP than they could be using a standard commercial property policy.

Manufacturers penalty insurance covers an insured manufacturer against financial responsibility imposed under a contract for delay in completion of a product. Manufacturers are sometimes compelled to assume a stipulated financial penalty in contracts with purchasers of their products.The policy generally covers 90 percent of the penalty loss sustained but does not extend to strikes or labor disputes.

Manuscript certificate of insurance describes a nonstandard document for providing evidence of insurance coverages required by the certificate holder in a contract with the insured. Sometimes drafted in an effort to overcome the limitations of a standard certificate of insurance, manuscript certificate of insurance forms are often resisted because they require more information or place greater legal obligations on the party providing the certificate.