{"id":202,"date":"2016-09-23T15:59:23","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T15:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/?p=202"},"modified":"2021-11-08T17:13:17","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T17:13:17","slug":"what-is-a-claims-made-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/what-is-a-claims-made-policy","title":{"rendered":"What is a claims made policy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FAQ<\/a><\/p>\n

What is a claims made policy? It’s a classic example of insurance-speak, is what it is.<\/p>\n

One of the big problems with business insurance (and insurance generally) is jargon. It\u2019s everywhere.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t like it any more than you do.<\/p>\n

Insurance jargon spells confusion<\/h2>\n

Veiling valuable policy information in confusing language means that the people who need to understand their policy the most \u2013that’s you, the policyholder \u2013 often understand it the least.<\/p>\n

This causes confusion, misinterpretation, and a lack of awareness about your insurance policy.<\/p>\n

Can you say, really, that you know exactly<\/em> what your policy covers? And what your obligations under your policy are?<\/p>\n

If to find out means having to consult a dictionary every ten seconds, then we\u2019re guessing probably not.<\/p>\n

Claims-made — not claims occurring — policy<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s why we love breaking it down and clearing up the messy jargon. It\u2019s a dirty job, but someone\u2019s got to do it!<\/p>\n

Take\u00a0errors and omissions insurance<\/a> (also known as professional liability insurance).<\/p>\n

Among its many important features is the fact that it\u2019s a\u00a0claims-made <\/em>policy<\/strong>, rather than a\u00a0claims-occurring<\/em>\u00a0policy. Now, we know that neither of these terms mean a great deal to the average I\u2019m-told-I\u2019ve-got-to-have-it-but-don\u2019t-know-why<\/em> type of insurance buyer. Why would they? But to understand these words is to understand a fundamental part of your insurance coverage. Let\u2019s explain.<\/p>\n

What does claims-made mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For a claim of negligence against you to be covered, your professional liability insurance policy has to be active at two points:<\/p>\n