{"id":438,"date":"2026-02-16T11:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=438"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:44:25","slug":"whats-claims-made-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s claims made insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426.jpg\" alt=\"If your insurance is 'claims made', you're not covered for past work when you cancel your policy.\" class=\"wp-image-18917\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:300px;height:150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>One of the off-putting things about professional insurance is jargon. It\u2019s everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/professional-indemnity-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">professional indemnity insurance<\/a> (PI),&nbsp;for example. Among its many important features is the fact it\u2019s a claims-made policy rather than a claims-occurring policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfamiliar phrases, certainly. But to understand these words is to understand an essential part of your cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What does &#8216;claims made&#8217; mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-negligence-mean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">negligence<\/a> claim against you to be covered, your professional indemnity insurance  has to be in force at two points: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>when you did the work, and <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>when a claim about it is made.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>PI is mostly concerned with work you\u2019ve already done, as that\u2019s where the majority of claims come from. You can&#8217;t be sued for a mistake you haven&#8217;t made yet &#8211; and it can take months or even years for problems to arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medical malpractice (AKA treatment liability) insurance is also &#8216;claims made&#8217;. Problems with beauty and aesthetics treatments can make themselves known a long time after they&#8217;ve been carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This brings us to the really important bit: your PI insurance only covers you for as long as your policy is up and running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say you cancel your cover as soon as you finish a contract. Or you stop offering a certain type of beauty treatment and remove it from your policy straight away. If there\u2019s a claim against you, say, two days or weeks after that, it won\u2019t be covered \u2013 even if it relates to work you did when the policy <strong>was<\/strong> in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s an eyebrow-raiser for sure, and a common misunderstanding. It\u2019s easy to assume that because you bought and paid for insurance at the time you did the work, any problems with it are covered even after you cancel the policy. That\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to make sure you\u2019re still covered, you need to keep your insurance running. This is often a tricky one to weigh up \u2013 it could mean paying for cover for years after work has been completed. Or even  after you\u2019ve ceased trading or retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What&#8217;s the difference between &#8216;claims made&#8217; and &#8216;claims occurring&#8217; insurance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/public-liability-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public liability insurance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/employers-liability-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">employers\u2019 liability<\/a> insurance are both claims-occurring policies and work somewhat differently from professional indemnity insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with professional indemnity, for a claim under one of these policies to be covered, the insurance has to be in force at the time of the incident. Simple enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it\u2019s the insurer at the time of the incident that covers it, regardless of when the claim is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The obvious difference here is that, unlike claims-made policies, claims-occurring policies still cover you even after your policy is cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Clear as&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, there we go. That should have made things a little clearer for you. However, we haven\u2019t covered everything to do with the nuts and bolts of professional indemnity insurance here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We still need to talk about things like <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-retroactive-cover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">retroactive cover<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-run-off-cover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">run-off cover<\/a>, both of which help you extend your cover. You can get a head-start by clicking on the links to read more. Or call us on <strong>0345 222 5391<\/strong> with your claims-related questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image used under license from Shutterstock.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the off-putting things about professional insurance is jargon. It\u2019s everywhere. Take professional indemnity insurance (PI),&nbsp;for example. Among its many important features is the fact it\u2019s a claims-made policy rather than a claims-occurring policy. Unfamiliar phrases, certainly. But to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,129,130],"tags":[45,137,299],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employers-liability-insurance","category-professional-indemnity-insurance","category-public-liability-insurance","tag-claims-2","tag-insurance-explained","tag-professional-indemnity-insurance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>What is claims made insurance?<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Professional indemnity and medical malpractice are &#039;claims made&#039; insurance. 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Find out what this means and why it matters.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PolicyBee news and risk advice\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T11:38:16+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T11:44:25+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alexandra Williams\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PolicyBee\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PolicyBee\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alexandra Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alexandra Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9724de2ae82620a7e676af2668c960a0\"},\"headline\":\"What&#8217;s claims made insurance?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-16T11:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-16T11:44:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"claims\",\"insurance explained\",\"professional indemnity insurance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Employers' liability\",\"Professional indemnity\",\"Public liability\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance\",\"name\":\"What is claims made insurance?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/whats-claims-made-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/expired-stamp-shutterstock_424978426.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-16T11:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-16T11:44:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9724de2ae82620a7e676af2668c960a0\"},\"description\":\"Professional indemnity and medical malpractice are 'claims made' insurance. 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