Welcome to the first in a new series of FAQs from Pound Gates. Each month we'll be answering a question we're frequently asked.
Martin Westlake, Relationship Manager at Pound Gates (pictured) answers the question:
What is the Retroactive Date on my Professional Indemnity policy?
The Retroactive Date on a Professional Indemnity (PI) policy is usually the date from which you have held uninterrupted PI insurance (even if you have changed insurance company during this period). Occasionally, an insurer may agree to cover you from a different date in the past, for instance when you are taking out PI insurance for the first time.
The Retroactive Date is very important because in order for a PI claim to be covered by your policy the insurance needs to have been in place both when the insured event happened and at the time the claim is intimated. Anything that happened before the Retroactive Date will not normally be covered by your policy.
The reason for this is that there is very likely to be a delay between you completing the work (or contract) and your customer pursuing a claim against you – it can take time for mistakes to come to light!
If there is a period when you do not have PI cover, a claim for something that took place during this uninsured period is most likely to be declined by your insurer, even if you have cover in place when the claim is first notified.
Your Retroactive Date will be shown on your Policy Schedule.
If you have a question for our expert team, please drop us a line.
