These are dates used in claims made insurance.Retro date - Policy covers any claim alleging facts occurring after this datePrior & Pending Date: Covers all claims made after this date (no coverage for claims known at policy inception)
Claims Made vs OccurrenceCommercial General Liability and other types of Personal Liability policies are generally "Occurrence" policies. This means "losses that occur during the policy term" are eligible for claims servicing. The policy active at the time of the loss is the policy that would address coverage. Professional Liability Policies are generally "Claims Made" policies. This type of policy offers coverage for "claims made during the policy term". An injury that occurred long before the policy became active could still be covered based on the retro active coverage date.
"Claims Made Policy" - The Insured is indemnified in case a claim arises during the policy period, no matter when a claim may arise, the Policy pays the insured for the Claim, provided the policy is active since its retroactive date(inception date).
The continuity date, sometimes referred to as the "prior knowledge" date refers to the date when designated parties first become aware of an incident which may be a covered act under an insurance policy. Continuity dates are exclusively found in claims made based insurance policies, never occurrence form insurance policies.Any act which any designated party is made aware of before the continuity date listed on the policy would not be covered by the policy in question. While this seems like it may present a major hole in coverage, it does not have to with good risk management practices. Assuming the line of coverage for which the continuity date applies exists when a designated person becomes aware of a possible covered act, as long as the act is reported immediately to the present insurance carrier, the claim will be covered no matter the date that the actual demand is presented to the insured. However, if the line of insurance is not in effect at the time the designated parties become aware of a possible covered act, no insurance will apply. This precludes adverse selection of risk by insurance companies. An entity could not become aware of an employment practices wrongful act and then purchase employment practices for the first time and expect the situation of which they were already aware to be covered under the policy.Do not confuse designated person with insured person, there is a meaningful difference. Often, insurance policies state that only the knowledge by an executive officer, director, human resources department, or legal department constitutes knowledge by the insured organization. Knowledge by rank and file employees would not constitute prior knowledge for the continuity date.Do not confuse the continuity date with the prior and pending litigation date. The prior and pending litigation date precludes claims regarding allegations made in litigation or administrative actions preceding the prior and pending date listed in the policy. The difference is for the continuity date exclusion to be triggered, formal litigation or administrative action does not have to have been filed while it would under the prior and pending date exclusion.More Information:(1) It especially occurs on the claims made policy (such as D&O, EPL, Fiduciary, etc.), when the insured change the carrier, the insured needs to know that there will be no gap in coverage form wrongful acts that occur prior to the inception date of the policy that do not result in a claim until after the new policy has incepted.(2) The initiation date of the first policy would be referred to as the continuity date.(3) Some insurers in the past put wrongful dates on new policies that precluded coverage for acts that occurred prior to the inception date. So now when an insured is considering switching insurers, the broker needs to address continuity to ensure that there will be no gap in coverage. In the current market, most insurers will agree to provide continuity.
Claims made policies must have an occurrence occur and be reported to the carrier within the policy period. The tail protects against claims made subsequent to the effective termination date of the occurring policy period.
Type your answer here... yes
The retroactive date sets how long before the inception of the policy that you are covered for negligent acts, error or omissions that you report during that policy. A retroactive date can match the policy inception date so that no prior acts are covered. From the date of the retro period would be the continuous period before the retro date during which the coverage is applicable
The retroactive date is the date from which coverage is deemed valid. Retro active dates are most common in professional lines ( claims Made ) policies and indicate the beginning coverage date from which there has been no lapse. You will not find a retroactive date on an occurrence policy
Claims Made Vs Occurrence Policies There are two primary forms of liability insurance policies - claims-made and occurrence policies. Most professional liability insurance, including directors and officers and employment practices liability insurance, is written on a claims-made basis.An occurrence policy obligates the insurance company to pay for claims arising out of occurrences during the policy period regardless of when the claim is reported. The policyholder is covered for any incident that occurs during the term of the policy regardless of when the claim arising from the incident is reported to the company. In some situations the claim might be made many years after the incident occurred. This leads to uncertainty for both the insured and the insurer.A claims-made policy protects an insured against claims or incidents that are reported while the policy is in force. Normally, a claims made policy provides coverage for acts occurring prior to the claims-made policy period. Coverage for acts occurring prior to the policy period is called "prior acts coverage," and the period prior to the policy period for which claims are covered is called the prior acts period. Prior acts coverage is usually only provided when a claims-made policy has been in force immediately prior to the current claims-made policy on a basis consistent with the prior policy. Prior acts coverage is defined as "full prior acts", covering acts occurring at any time prior to the current policy period, or is defined by a "retroactive date." When a retroactive date is used, prior acts coverage is provided from the retroactive date to the current policy period.
The key date for a life insurance policy is the date of death, rather than the effective date of the policy. Since a life insurance policy is a written contract, the law of the state in which the policy was issued will provide how long one has to file suit on a written contract. However, filing suit should be the last resort. The policy will probably have a section addressing "Claims". It will specify the procedure to be followed, what the company needs, and where the material is to be sent. It may also state a fixed period of time after death to submit the claim, or "as soon as practicable". This suggests that there is some flexibility in the timing, and that the insurer realizes that claims are usually not filed immediately.
The Policy effective date is the date that your insurance coverage started under that policy.
When a policy is written on a "claims-made" basis, it means that the policy in force at the time a claim against the insured is asserted applies to the claim, regardless of when the occurrence forming the basis of the claim occurred. Correlatively, the policy must be in force at the time that the claim is make for coverage to apply. The insured must also timely report it and follow all conditions precedent outlined in the policy while it is in force. There is a variant of a claims made policy, which may be set forth in an endorsement to the policy, that provides for a "retro" date. This means that the policy will apply to occurrences that took place prior to the inception of the policy (if they otherwise fall within the ambit of coverage).With an "occurrence" based policy, even though the policy may have expired as of the time the insured received notice of the claim, the policy will afford coverage if the claim otherwise comes within the scope of coverage. This type of policy also has claims reporting provisions to which the insured must adhere, as well as a cooperation clause. The latter means that the insured must cooperate with the insurer (and the attorney it selects to defend that claim) in the defense.Both forms of coverage have advantages and drawbacks, depending on the circumstances. It is difficult to predict whether, in any particular instance, it will be advantageous to insure using one form or the other. Only in hindsight can a judgment be made.Advantages of "occurrence" policies"Occurrence" policies are sometimes like "money in the bank," in that you can go back to old policies, years after they have lapsed and put a claim against them for incidents that happened while they were in force. Old policies should never be thrown away. They should be kept in a place of safekeeping.You don't have to worry about canceling an "occurrence" policy and moving to a different insurer. Coverage remains locked in for incidents occurring while the policy was in force, as long as the insurer is in business. In contrast, once a "claims-made" policy is cancelled, it is possible that purchasing insurance for past events will become difficult, expensive or perhaps not possible.Sometimes courts will find occurrences in successive policies if there is continuing harm. This can have the effect of accumulating limits over a period of years. With "claims-made," only one limit applies; that in force when the claim is actually made.Disadvantages of "occurrence" policiesInsurance companies that wrote policies in previous years may no longer be in business. With "claims-made" policies, the insurer is much more likely to be around when a claim becomes payable. The length of time between an occurrence and resolution in court can be 20 or more years. An insurer in business 20 years ago may not be in business today. The only way to mitigate this risk with "occurrence" insurers is to change to a different one every few years so that you do not keep "all your eggs in one basket."The limits on an "occurrence" policy are likely to be inadequate if a claim is made twenty years after a policy has expired. With "claims-made" it is easier to arrange a limit which is adequate for today's exposures.For malpractice exposures written on an "occurrence" basis it is important to arrange limits which are somewhat more than is necessary in order to meet tomorrow's exposures. On a "claims-made" basis, one does not need to project twenty years or more into the future when setting limits; 7 years is usually the longest time it takes for a case to go through the court system, so even though you still need to project into the future, the length of time is much less.Advantages of "claims-made" policiesLimits can be predicated on today's exposures more accurately than with "occurrence" policies, so there may be less of a likelihood of being underinsured.Disadvantages of "claims-made" policiesCoverage is triggered by an actual claim for damages, not a notice of an "occurrence" or "incident." However, the date of the occurrence or incident must be more recent than the retroactive date of the policy. This retroactive date determines the cut-off date for claims: if the incident occurred before the retroactive date, the insurer has no obligation and the insured no coverage. While the claim has to be made during the policy period, the occurrence which gave rise to the claim has to fall after the retroactive date of the policy. A "claims-made" policy wording covers as follows:This insurance does not apply to "bodily injury" or "property damage" which occurred before the retroactive date, if any, shown in the Declarations.A "claims-made" policy can have:No retroactive date (the broadest coverage).A retroactive date that pre-dates the policy inception date (this may range from days to years). Ideally, it should go back at least to the expiration date of your last "occurrence" policy. If it goes back further it can be designed to provide top-up cover in the case of different limits.A retroactive date that is the same as the policy inception date - this is the most limited coverage and excludes any claim for damages that occurred prior to the policy inception. It is acceptable only if prior to this policy "occurrence" coverage was in force or full "tail" coverage has been purchased on any previous "claims-made" policy.Ideally, you want no retroactive date or one that includes the entire period that you have had "claims-made" coverage. Anything less makes you effectively self-insured for any claims for injuries or damage that occurred during prior claims-made policy periods which you have not reported to your insurer at the time of the occurrence (unless such claims are covered by supplemental "tail" coverage).The first claim for damages determines which policy applies. For example, if a person first makes a claim for medical payments in 1986, then files for additional damages in 1988, both claims activate the 1986 claims-made policy.With "claims-made" basis of coverage, should the policy ever be allowed to lapse or be cancelled, the insured is generally given the option of purchasing coverage, for a stated period following the expiration of the policy (extended reporting period). Any "claims-made" during this extended reporting period month period would then be covered if it otherwise comes within the scope of coverage. With "occurrence" policies you can be less concerned with coverage lapses or insurer changes.If coverage terms ever become more restrictive on subsequent renewal of a "claims-made" policy, the new terms apply retroactively to the original retroactive or inception date.