What is the date stipulated on the declaration page of a claims-made liability form as the earliest date on which an incident may occur and be covered by the policy?

• A. Retroactive Date
• B. Inception Date
• C. Effective Date
• D. Policy Year Start

Answer: (A)

In a claims-made liability form, the key date is the retroactive date. This date on the declaration page marks the earliest point in time from which an incident must occur to be covered under the policy. Coverage in a claims-made form is triggered by a claim made during the policy period, but the incident itself must have occurred after the retroactive date. If an incident happened before that date, it isn’t covered, even if the claim is made while the policy is active. The other dates describe when the policy is active or general calendar terms, not the earliest incident date that can be covered.