Glossary of Business Insurance Terms
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Continuity date

A continuity date refers to the earliest date from which a small business has maintained continuous insurance coverage.

What is a continuity date?

A continuity date refers to the earliest date from which your claims-made insurance policy will protect you against a covered loss (a mistake, omission, or other action that harms a third party).

Depending on your situation, your continuity date may be the date your current insurance began or a date far in the past when you were insured with another company.

How far back your continuity date goes depends on whether you maintained coverage continuously:

  • If you never dropped your insurance, your continuity date will be the date your first insurance policy began.
  • If you dropped your insurance, your continuity date will be the start date of its successor policy.
  • If you’ve never had insurance before, your continuity date will be the start date of your first policy.

If an incident occurs before the continuity date, your insurance policy won’t pay for the loss, even if you file a claim under your current coverage.

Do continuity dates apply to all forms of insurance?

Continuity dates apply to claims-made liability insurance policies, including errors and omissions, professional liability, and directors and officers insurance coverages.

Why are continuity dates necessary?

Continuity dates are necessary because claims-made insurance only pays for claims filed while an insurance policy is active.

Whether an incident happens under your current or previous policy, you will have insurance protection as long as it occurred after your continuity date. However, when you purchase a new policy, you must notify your current insurer that your existing claims-made insurance is still active.

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Updated: April 29, 2022

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