Study guide
8.3 Occurrence vs. Claims-Made Triggers
Arkansas Property & Casualty Insurance State
Track your progress as you read
Finished sections get a check mark.
1 Standalone Coverage Map
Standalone Coverage Map
2 Introduction: Arkansas Property & Casualty Insurance Exam Overview
Arkansas Property & Casualty Exam Overview
3 National Portion: Insurance Fundamentals
1.1 Risk, Hazards, Perils, and the Law of Large Numbers 1.2 Insurable Interest, Indemnity, and Other Insurance Principles 1.3 Insurance Contract Law and Elements 1.4 Policy Structure: Declarations, Insuring Agreement, Conditions, Exclusions 1.5 Parties, Agents vs. Brokers, and Authority
4 National Portion: Property Insurance Concepts
2.1 Causes of Loss / Named-Peril vs. Open-Peril 2.2 Valuation: ACV, Replacement Cost, and Functional Value 2.3 Coinsurance and the Coinsurance Formula 2.4 Deductibles, Limits, and Loss Settlement 2.5 Common Property Policy Conditions and Clauses
5 National Portion: Dwelling Policies (DP)
3.1 Dwelling Policy Forms DP-1, DP-2, DP-3 3.2 Dwelling Coverages A-E and Other Coverages 3.3 Dwelling Perils, Conditions, and Endorsements 3.4 Mobile Home and Specialized Dwelling Coverage
6 National Portion: Homeowners Policies - Forms & Section I
4.1 Homeowners Forms HO-2 through HO-8 and Eligibility 4.2 Section I Coverages A-D and Additional Coverages 4.3 Section I Perils Insured Against and Exclusions 4.4 Replacement Cost vs. ACV and Loss Settlement in Homeowners
7 National Portion: Homeowners Policies - Section II & Endorsements
5.1 Section II Coverages E (Liability) and F (Medical Payments) 5.2 Homeowners Conditions and Duties After Loss 5.3 Common Homeowners Endorsements (scheduled property, water backup, ordinance or law)
8 National Portion: Personal Auto Policy - Liability & Injury
6.1 Personal Auto Policy Structure and Eligibility 6.2 Part A Liability and Supplementary Payments 6.3 Part B Medical Payments 6.4 Part C Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists
9 National Portion: Personal Auto Policy - Physical Damage & Duties
7.1 Part D: Coverage for Damage to Your Auto 7.2 Exclusions and Part E: Duties After an Accident 7.3 Part F: General Provisions, Endorsements, and No-Fault Concepts
10 National Portion: Liability Insurance Concepts
8.1 Negligence, Torts, and Legal Liability 8.2 Defenses, Damages, and Vicarious Liability 8.3 Occurrence vs. Claims-Made Triggers 8.4 Bodily Injury, Property Damage, and Personal/Advertising Injury
11 National Portion: Commercial Property Insurance
9.1 Commercial Package Policy Structure and Common Policy Conditions 9.2 Building and Personal Property Coverage Form (BPP) 9.3 Causes of Loss Forms (Basic, Broad, Special) 9.4 Business Income and Extra Expense 9.5 Commercial Property Endorsements and the BOP
12 National Portion: Commercial General Liability - Coverages
10.1 CGL Coverage A: Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability 10.2 CGL Coverage B: Personal and Advertising Injury, Coverage C: Medical Payments 10.3 Who Is an Insured and Supplementary Payments
13 National Portion: Commercial General Liability - Limits, Triggers & Exclusions
11.1 CGL Limits of Insurance and Aggregates 11.2 Occurrence vs. Claims-Made CGL and Retroactive Dates 11.3 Key CGL Exclusions and Endorsements
14 National Portion: Commercial Auto Insurance
12.1 Business Auto Coverage Form and Covered Auto Symbols 12.2 Commercial Auto Liability and Physical Damage 12.3 Motor Carrier / Trucking and MCS-90 12.4 Garage Coverage Form and Garagekeepers 12.5 Commercial Auto Endorsements
15 National Portion: Workers Compensation
13.1 Workers Compensation Statutory Background and Benefits 13.2 Part One (Workers Comp) and Part Two (Employers Liability) 13.3 Premium Basis, Experience Modification, and Classification 13.4 Other States, USL&H, and Federal Acts 13.5 Workers Comp Exclusions and Endorsements
16 National Portion: Other Commercial Lines - BOP, Crime & Marine
14.1 Businessowners Policy (BOP) in Depth 14.2 Crime and Fidelity Coverage 14.3 Inland Marine and Nationwide Marine Definition 14.4 Ocean Marine Coverages (Hull, Cargo, Freight, P&I)
17 National Portion: Other Commercial Lines - Specialty & Professional
15.1 Farm and Agricultural Coverage 15.2 Commercial Umbrella and Excess Liability 15.3 Professional Liability and Errors & Omissions 15.4 Directors & Officers and Employment Practices Liability
18 National Portion: Other Commercial Lines - Surety, Flood & Specialty
16.1 Surety and Fidelity Bonds 16.2 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) 16.3 Cyber, Aviation, and Other Specialty Lines
19 National Portion: Insurance Regulation & Market Conduct
17.1 State Regulation, Licensing, and the McCarran-Ferguson Act 17.2 Rates, Forms, Solvency, and Guaranty Associations 17.3 Producer Authority, Fiduciary Duty, and Company Operations
20 National Portion: Ethics & Unfair Trade Practices
18.1 Unfair Trade Practices and Unfair Claims Settlement 18.2 Producer Ethics, Errors & Omissions Exposure, and Fiduciary Conduct 18.3 Privacy, Fraud, and Consumer Protection
21 Chapter 1: Arkansas P&C Insurance Regulation & Licensing
1.1 Arkansas Insurance Department 1.2 Arkansas P&C Producer Licensing Requirements 1.3 Arkansas Producer Responsibilities
22 Chapter 2: Arkansas Property Insurance
2.1 Arkansas Homeowners Insurance 2.2 Arkansas Commercial Property Insurance
23 Chapter 3: Arkansas Casualty & Auto Insurance
3.1 Arkansas Auto Insurance Requirements 3.2 Arkansas Liability Insurance 3.3 Arkansas Workers' Compensation Insurance
24 Chapter 4: Arkansas Ethics & Professional Conduct
4.1 Ethical Practices and Consumer Protection
8.3 Occurrence vs. Claims-Made Triggers
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
An occurrence trigger responds when the injury or damage HAPPENS during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is filed.
A claims-made trigger responds when the CLAIM is first made during the policy period, subject to the retroactive date.
The retroactive date excludes coverage for any injury before it, even if the claim is made in-period.
Extended Reporting Periods (tails) cover claims reported after a claims-made policy ends; occurrence forms have built-in tail coverage.
ISO writes the CGL as occurrence (CG 00 01) or claims-made (CG 00 02); occurrence is the default and more common.
Last updated: June 2026
What a Coverage Trigger Does
A coverage trigger answers the question: which policy period must respond to this loss? Because liability claims (especially bodily injury from disease or defective products) can surface years after the underlying act, the trigger is decisive. ISO writes the Commercial General Liability policy two ways:
CG 00 01 — occurrence form (the standard, current edition CG 00 01 04 13 ).
CG 00 02 — claims-made form.
- Factor Occurrence (CG 00 01) Claims-Made (CG 00 02)
- Trigger Injury/damage OCCURS in the period CLAIM is first made in the period
- When claim is filed Irrelevant — may be decades later Must be made in-period (or in a tail)
- Retroactive date None Yes — caps how far back coverage reaches
- Tail coverage Built in, free Must buy an Extended Reporting Period
- Premium pattern Level year to year Low at first, 'steps up' to mature (~yr 5)
Trap: On an occurrence form the date of the claim does not matter — only the date the injury occurred. Reverse that logic for claims-made.
The Retroactive Date and Trigger Scenarios
A claims-made policy carries a retroactive date . Coverage applies only if both are true: the injury occurred on or after the retro date, and the claim is first made during the policy period (or an applicable tail).
Occurrence scenario. A 2024 occurrence policy. A customer is injured in December 2024 but does not sue until 2027 . The 2024 policy responds because the injury occurred in 2024 — even though that policy expired years earlier.
Claims-made scenario. A 2025 claims-made policy with a retroactive date of January 1, 2021 .
Claim made in 2025 for a 2022 injury → covered (injury after retro date; claim in-period).
Claim made in 2025 for a 2019 injury → NOT covered (injury predates the retro date).
Injury in 2025 but claim first made in 2028 with no tail purchased → NOT covered (claim made after the policy ended).
Trap: Advancing or 'stepping forward' the retroactive date when renewing can silently strip coverage for prior acts. The exam treats this as an improper practice the insured should resist.
Extended Reporting Periods (Tails)
Claims-made policies need a way to cover claims that arrive after the policy ends. That is the Extended Reporting Period (ERP) , or 'tail.'
Basic ERP (mini-tail) — automatic and free . It covers claims for occurrences already reported, plus claims first made within a short window (commonly 60 days ) after termination, and within 5 years for occurrences reported during the policy.
Supplemental ERP (full tail) — purchased by endorsement , provides an unlimited reporting period for prior-acts claims. It must be requested within 60 days of cancellation or non-renewal.
Why occurrence is generally better for the insured: built-in tail means no gap when switching carriers, and one occurrence policy can pay claims decades later as long as the injury occurred in its term. Claims-made is used where long-tail exposure must be cost-controlled (professional liability, products), but it demands careful management of the retro date and ERP to avoid gaps.
Switching Carriers Without a Gap
The danger zone for an insured is moving from a claims-made policy to a new carrier. If the old policy ends and no tail is bought, a late-reported prior-acts claim falls into a gap. Two solutions:
Buy a supplemental ERP (tail) from the departing carrier for prior acts, or
Have the new carrier issue a policy with prior-acts ('nose') coverage by setting the retroactive date back to the original date.
Occurrence forms avoid this entirely because each year's policy permanently owns that year's injuries. This is the practical reason the exam favors occurrence coverage as 'cleaner' for the insured.
The Five Claims-Made Reporting Scenarios
ISO claims-made coverage is governed by the interplay of the retroactive date and the policy period . Examiners build a grid of cases; memorize the outcome of each:
Injury date Claim first made Covered?
- After retro date, during the policy period During the period Yes
- Before the retro date During the period No — predates retro date
- After retro date After policy ends, basic ERP window Yes , if within the short tail window
- After retro date After policy ends, supplemental ERP bought Yes — unlimited reporting
- After retro date After policy ends, no tail bought No — claim made too late
Quick Answer: A claims-made policy pays only when the injury is on or after the retroactive date AND the claim is first made during the policy period or a valid ERP . Fail either test and there is no coverage.
Reading 'Laser' Endorsements and Advancing Retro Dates
Two insurer practices can quietly strip claims-made coverage, and the exam treats them as something the insured should resist:
Advancing (stepping forward) the retroactive date at renewal moves the cutoff later, leaving prior-acts exposures uninsured. A properly renewed claims-made policy should keep the original retro date.
Laser endorsements exclude a specific known claim, person, or location from coverage going forward.
When switching carriers, the insured protects continuity by buying a supplemental ERP (tail) from the departing insurer OR securing prior-acts ('nose') coverage from the new insurer that sets the retro date back to the original inception. The trap the exam loves: an insured drops a claims-made policy, buys no tail, and a prior-acts claim arrives — the answer is that the loss falls into an uninsured gap. Occurrence forms never face this because each year's policy permanently owns that year's injuries.