Maintenance period

The period after completion of a construction contract during which the contractor is responsible for maintenance issues and defects. During this period (commonly 12 months), the contractor should maintain his insurance as required by contract. Different levels of cover are available (visits maintenance, extended maintenance guarantee maintenance) depending on the specifics of the contract. See JOINT CONTRACTS TRIBUNAL; CONTRACT WORKS.

Major claims

Classified by Lloyd’s as loss events in excess of £20m in a reporting period and include catastrophe losses. Insurance companies may have different classifications of major losses depending upon their nature and size of business.

major diagnostic categories (MDCs)

Broad classifications of diagnoses grouped by organ system that are medically related by diagnosis, treatment, or similarity, or that are statistically similar by length of stay in a hospital. There are 83 coding system–oriented MDCs in the original diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) and 23 body system–oriented MDCs in the revised set of DRGs. MDCs are used in DRG payment.

Major medical

Health insurance policy designed to offset heavy medical expenses resulting from catastrophic or prolonged illness or injury. Usually there is a deductible, coinsurance, and large benefit maximums. Also called catastrophic coverage, catastrophic insurance, catastrophic health insurance , or major medical expense insurance .