In a claims-made form, which feature is used to preserve coverage for acts that occurred before the policy period?

• A. A mandatory annual premium adjustment.
• B. The event must occur during policy period.
• C. The claim must be made during the policy period.
• D. A retroactive date is used to preserve coverage for prior acts.

Answer: (D)

In a claims-made form, coverage is triggered when a claim is actually made during the policy period. To protect against gaps for incidents that happened before the current policy started, the policy can include a retroactive date. This date sets the earliest time from which acts will be considered for coverage. If a claim arises from an act that occurred after the retroactive date and is reported during the policy period, it is covered. If the act happened before the retroactive date, it is not covered, unless the insured has additional prior acts coverage. The retroactive date is the mechanism that preserves coverage for prior acts without needing the event to occur during the current period.