A “claims made” insurance policy is a type of policy that provides coverage for claims made against you during the period your policy is active, regardless of when the work that gave rise to the claim actually occurred. This differs from “occurrence-based” policies, which respond to claims arising from incidents that occurred while the policy was in force, even if the claim is reported later.

Professional Indemnity Insurance, Management Liability Insurance, and Cyber Insurance are examples of claims-made insurance policies.  Whereas Business Insurance, Public Liability Insurance and Commercial Motor Insurance are examples of occurrence-based insurance policies.

** Note, however, that the portion of Products Liability within a Public & Products Liability policy may be claims-made. 

A claims-made insurance policy is designed to protect professionals and businesses from legal liability associated with advice, services, or decisions that may not surface as an issue until months or even years later.

With claims-made insurance, your protection depends on having an active policy at the time the claim is made and reported. This means that if you cancel your policy or let it lapse at renewal, you could lose cover for work you’ve done in the past, even if you held insurance continuously for many years.

That’s why maintaining uninterrupted cover is critical, particularly for professionals who:

• Retire or close their business
• Sell or merge their business
• Change insurers or policies

In these cases, failing to maintain coverage in place could leave you vulnerable to claims for past work. Even after you stop trading, continuous protection helps ensure peace of mind.

If your policy is claims-made, keep an eye on your retroactive date and consider run-off coverage. These features help maintain protection for past work. To read more about Claims Made insurance policies, please visit our helpful page.

At Webber Insurance, we specialise in claims-made insurance policies and can assist you with any questions you might have. Contact us today to speak to a broker.