Glossary

Market service agreement is an agreement between an insurance intermediary and an insurer that includes a type of contingent commission program based predominately on the volume of business placed with an insurer with little or no relation to the profitability of the business placed with the insurer. This type of payment is considered to present a greater conflict of interest for the insurance intermediary in representing the interests of the policyholder and was the type of agreement that the New York attorney general focused on during his attack on contingent commission practices in 2003–2005. This approach is viewed quite unfavorably by the risk management and insurance community and is rarely if ever used today, at least by the largest firms. This is also called a placement service agreement (PSA).

Market value is the price that would have to be paid to purchase an asset in its particular market.

A market value clause is a property insurance endorsement or provision establishing market value (rather than actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost (RC) value) as the valuation basis for covered property. Usually used in connection with agricultural products and other commodities whose value fluctuates in accordance with a commodities exchange. Also occasionally used as the valuation basis for a building.

Masonry noncombustible construction is one of six building construction categories established by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), in its Commercial Lines Manual (CLM) for purposes of developing rates for insuring commercial property, based on susceptibility to damage by fire. The CLM description of masonry noncombustible construction, followed by the associated ISO construction code, is exterior walls of masonry material (adobe, brick, concrete, gypsum block, hollow concrete block, stone, tile, or similar materials) with floors and roof of metal or other noncombustible materials (Construction Code 4). The construction code indicates the ranking of this building construction category within the six categories, with 1 as the least fire-resistive and 6 as the most fire-resistive.

In property and liability coverage, a master policy is the combining of several locations or operations under a single policy for the same insured or insureds. The term may also be used in the case of construction wrap-ups. In either case, underlying policies or certificates of insurance are issued to insureds under the policy as evidence of coverage under the master policy.

A master service agreement is a contract used by oil and gas companies to enter into an agreement in advance with their contractors that specifies the terms and conditions that will govern the contractors' work. The agreement is typically used for on-site services performed by oil field service contractors on a repetitive basis, such as equipment maintenance, well services, and cementing services. Its goal is to speed up and simplify future contracts for long-term client/vendor relationships.

Matching deductible refers to a deductible arrangement under which the policy deductible equals the policy limit.

A material misrepresentation in an insurance context is a false, misleading, or omitted statement in an insurance policy application or renewal that is significant enough to affect an insurer's decision to issue a policy, set premium, determine coverage terms, or accept a risk. It occurs when an applicant provides inaccurate information or fails to disclose important facts that would influence the underwriting of the risk. Depending on the applicable law, policy language, and circumstances, it is possible for insurers to deny a claim, rescind the policy, adjust terms, or take other action due to a material misrepresentation.

Mature is a life insurance term used to describe a life insurance policy whose face amount has become payable.

Mature claims-made is a claims-made commercial general liability (CGL) policy in at least its fifth consecutive claims-made year without advancement of the retroactive date. No premium discounts (claims-made multipliers) are applied in rating mature claims-made policies.