- If a claims-made policy is incident sensitive, or has a discovery provision, the insured may report to the carrier an error, a wrongful act, a circumstance, or an incident that it believes is likely to develop into a claim.
- The claim trigger in a professional liability policy is usually a demand for damages. In the absence of a demand for damages, coverage cannot be triggered.
- An insured could have a threatening letter from a disgruntled customer, a notice of intent to sue, a subpoena for information, or just a sick feeling in their gut when they realize an error has occurred that is likely to arise in a claim. However, until the demand for damages is actually made, whether in a demand letter or a suit, there is no claim.
- In the absence of the ability to report a circumstance, an insured can know it will have a claim made against it in the future, and can be unable to move coverage when needed because it cannot ensure the future claim will have a home. New carriers will exclude the circumstance as a known wrongful act, or a circumstance which could reasonably be believed to give rise to a claim. The expiring carrier would not respond to the circumstance because it is not a claim, and would not respond to the future claim, because the policy would no longer be in force.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Incident Sensitivity, Part 2 (3/20/08 Knowledge Knugget)
Why is Incident Sensitivity important?
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