Entry date into claims made refers to the point when an insured first goes onto claims-made coverage, which affects pricing, maturity, and how later claims are evaluated. In plain language, it is the starting point for the insured’s claims-made history with that line of coverage.
Why the date matters
Claims-made liability insurance is sensitive to timing. Coverage usually depends on when a claim is first made and reported, not just when the underlying act happened. The entry date helps underwriters and claims staff track:
- how long the insured has been continuously on claims-made coverage
- whether the policy is a first-year, second-year, or mature claims-made account
- whether prior acts exposure needs to be covered
- how the retroactive date should be handled
As a claims-made program matures, premium often changes because the insurer is covering a fuller block of past professional acts that may still generate claims.
Entry date versus retroactive date
These terms are related but not identical. The entry date reflects when the insured first entered claims-made coverage. The retroactive date is the earliest date from which acts are covered, assuming the claim is made and reported during the policy period. A policy can renew for years, keep the same retroactive date, and still be evaluated based on how mature the claims-made relationship has become.
Practical example
An accounting firm switches from occurrence coverage to a claims-made errors and omissions policy on January 1. The carrier records January 1 as the firm’s entry date into claims-made coverage. If the carrier also grants a retroactive date of January 1, then work done before that date will not be covered even if the claim is first made later during the policy period.