As a responsible health professional, having continuous professional liability insurance throughout the duration of your career is an important way to protect you, your career and your livelihood.

Most professional liability insurance policies are claims-made policies. This means your policy will only cover claims against you for incidents that occurred while the policy was active.

This is why it is important to maintain continuous professional liability coverage. By never letting your policy lapse, your retroactive date has you covered for all previous work.

What exactly is a retroactive date?

A retroactive date is the date from which you have held uninterrupted, continuous professional liability insurance. If you have held professional liability insurance continuously with no breaks in coverage, your policy will cover you if a claim is made against you, even if you have switched insurance carriers.

If, however, there was a period of time when you did not hold professional liability insurance, you will only be covered for work since the start of your new insurance policy. If a claim is filed against you for an incident that happened before your retroactive date, you will be held accountable for settling the claim with your personal assets.

Example of Continuous Coverage

2005—Started career, purchased professional liability insurance

2006-2018—Continuously renewed your insurance

Your retroactive date is 2005, and you are covered for all the work you have done since 2005.

Example of Lapsed Coverage

2005—Started career, purchased professional liability insurance

2006—Took a year off to travel, let insurance lapse

2007-2018—Continuously renewed your insurance

Your retroactive date is 2007, and you are covered for all the work you have done since 2007, but not the work you did in 2005.

What if I am ready to retire?

While it is your own personal preference, most professionals choose to keep their professional liability insurance live for three or more years after their retirement. While it may seem like a waste to pay for coverage while you are not working, an insurance premium is much more affordable than paying a settlement out of pocket.

What if I switch insurance carriers?

Should you decide to change insurance companies, be sure to provide the new company with the retroactive date of your current professional liability insurance. This will ensure your coverage and retroactive date are not interrupted.Renewing your professional liability policy yearly is more important than you may think. For more information on retroactive dates and securing professional liability insurance, contact Lockton Affinity at (800) 253-5486 or [email protected].