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Extended reporting period

An extension of the period during which claims can be reported after a claims-made contract expires, for events that predate it.

Definition

The extended reporting period prolongs, after a claims-made contract expires, the period during which the insured can still report claims arising from events that occurred before that expiry. It is the counterpart of the retroactive date: one bounds cover backward, the other forward. It fills the time lag built into liability cover, where a claim can arise long after the event behind it. Without it, an insured who ends the contract, changes insurer or stops operating would have no cover for late claims tied to their period of activity, even though they were insured when the events happened. Its length varies, from a few years to unlimited in certain cases of cessation of activity, notably for regulated professions. It is negotiated first in professional liability and cyber, where the consequences of a fault or a flaw can surface late. Its presence and its length are points to watch at subscription and at termination.

Its 5 cross-references, woven across the glossary's 18 categories
Extended reporting period: Insurance glossary illustration, AlgoPolis
Example

Textbook case: a consultant ceases their activity and takes out a five-year extended reporting period. Three years later, a former client blames them for a past error. The claim is covered thanks to this extension, even though they are no longer otherwise insured.

Read next
InsuranceClaims-made and occurrence basisTwo ways of triggering a liability cover, depending on whether the policy keys off the date of the harmful event or the date the victim makes the claim.Read the entry →InsuranceRetroactive dateOn a claims-made policy, the date from which triggering events are covered. Anything earlier is excluded.Read the entry →InsuranceIBNR claims (Incurred But Not Reported)Reserve for claims that have occurred by the valuation date but have not yet been reported; in broad market usage it also covers future deterioration of claims already known.Read the entry →
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Go further at the Academy
Course · CGP-4Acceptance day, and what it shifts
Also known as

extended reporting period, ERP, tail cover, run-off cover

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