Retroactive Date establishes the original policy date for which type of policy?

• A. A series of claims-made policies
• B. A traditional occurrence-based policy
• C. A monoline auto policy
• D. A research policy

Answer: (A)

Retroactive date is used with series of claims-made policies to define the earliest date an incident could occur and still be covered. In claims-made coverage, a claim must be made during the policy period, and the incident must occur on or after the retroactive date. It essentially serves as the original policy date for prior acts: if an event happened before that date, it isn’t covered, even if the claim is filed later. Occurrence-based policies, and typical auto policies, don’t use a retroactive date because they trigger coverage based on when the event occurred, not when the claim is made.