Claims-made
What is a retroactive date?
Written and reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, licensed insurance agent
A retroactive date is the prior-acts boundary on a claims-made policy: services performed before that date may fall outside coverage even when the claim arrives during the current policy. It is not necessarily the policy start date, and preserving an earlier date when renewing or changing insurers requires reviewing the declarations and prior-acts wording.
How does a retroactive date work with a claims-made policy?
Claims-made policies respond to claims first made and reported during the policy period, for services performed after the retroactive date. The Hartford design professional guide describes its product as claims-made, which is typical for this market. A firm that switches carriers without carrying forward its retroactive date can create a gap for older projects.
What happens when a firm changes carriers?
Ask the new carrier to match the existing retroactive date. If it will only offer a later date, consider extended reporting on the expiring policy for past work. Our agency asks every carrier for prior-acts terms at the same time, and shows you which carriers declined and why.
What about a firm that closes or a principal who retires?
Claims can arise after a firm stops practicing. An extended reporting period lets claims be reported after the policy ends for work performed before it ended. The Hartford guide describes an automatic 60-day extended reporting period; longer elections depend on the policy.
What sources support this answer?
General information, not legal advice. Policy wording controls; carriers are quoted through our agency and no endorsement is implied.
Related guides and tools
Follow-up questions
Is the retroactive date the same as the policy effective date?
Not necessarily. A renewing policy often keeps an earlier retroactive date that reflects years of continuous coverage.
Can a retroactive date be moved back after purchase?
Sometimes, by endorsement and underwriting approval. Ask before relying on it.
More buyer questions
- Do architects need professional liability insurance?
Most architecture firms carry professional liability insurance because clients, owners and contracts commonly ask for it and because design-error allegations can arise years after a project closes.
- Does general liability cover design errors?
Generally no: general liability is not a substitute for professional liability when the allegation is a design error.
- What is a retroactive date?
A retroactive date is the prior-acts boundary on a claims-made policy: services performed before that date may fall outside coverage even when the claim arrives during the current policy.
- Can a client be named as an additional insured on professional liability?
Usually not: additional-insured status is typically a general liability request, and professional liability policies generally do not add clients as additional insureds.
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