A Claims Made & Reported policy is often misunderstood. I am providing a layman’s explanation to assist you in understanding your policy. This is the only type of policy form available to your industry which doesn’t exclude Health Hazard Claims.
We work with insurers which may, from time to time offer an “Occurrence Form”. However, they will exclude any claims related to Health Hazards and have an extensive list of exclusions not favorable to you.
Scenario:
You purchase a Claims Made & Reported Policy from 01/01/2018 to 01/01/2019 and don’t renew it. On 05/01/2019 you get notified of an incident/lawsuit for an injury which occurred on 02/02/2018 (during the expired policy period).
Your insurer will deny the claim because two conditions must be meet for coverage:
1. The injury must take place during the covered period
2. The report of the injury must take place during a covered period.
Solution:
The gap in coverage is completely avoidable and here is what you need to do:
1. Purchase a Tail Policy from the expiring insurer, if offered. A Tail Policy will extend the reporting period for at least 1 year. This will allow you to report a claim which occurred during the expired policy period for up to 12 months or more depending .
2. Continue Coverage/Renew which will pick up the Retroactive Date of the expired policy. When you renew your vape insurance policy with us we will make sure that there is no gap in coverage and your retroactive period is preserved from the expiring policy.
What is an “Occurrence Form”
An “Occurrence Form” policy form allows you to report a claim after the policy period has ended for the injury which occurred during the insured period.
Why can’t offer an “Occurrence Form” if we are offering coverage for Health Related Claims. No insurer will offer this to our clients. We can offer “Occurrence” form on policies with no


Additional information on a Claims Made & Reported policy can be found online at the International Risk Management Institutes website
https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/the-claims-made-cgl-policy