Claims-made-and-reported trigger
Category: Policy triggers · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-22 · ~4 min read
Category: Policy triggers
Also known as: claims made and reported basis, reported-within-period trigger
Related concepts: claim made, trigger clause
Definition
Claims-made-and-reported is a variant of the claims-made trigger. Under a plain claims-made wording the operative question is when the claim was first made against the insured; notification is usually governed by a separate condition requiring notice as soon as practicable, sometimes with a longstop. Under a claims-made-and-reported wording, reporting is not a condition sitting alongside the trigger — it is part of the trigger. If the claim is reported after the period ends, the insuring clause is not engaged at all, however promptly the insured acted.
How it differs from the two entries next door
Two related entries cover the ground either side of this one. The claim made entry deals with what constitutes a claim and when it is first made. The trigger clause entry deals with policy triggers generally, including occurrence and losses-occurring bases. This entry is only about the additional reporting limb and the practical consequences of it.
The compression problem
The tighter trigger creates an obvious squeeze at the end of a policy year. A claim first made in the last fortnight of the period has to be reported before the period expires. That is manageable if the business knows what a claim is, who has authority to report it, and where reports go. It is not manageable if a letter of claim sits in a partner’s inbox over a holiday. Some wordings soften this with an automatic extended reporting window of thirty, sixty or ninety days after expiry for claims first made near the end of the period; that extension, where it exists, is the single most valuable amendment to look for.
Renewal gaps and moving insurer
Because the trigger requires both limbs in one period, changing insurer at renewal can leave a claim orphaned. A claim first made shortly before expiry but reported shortly after falls outside the expiring policy (not reported in time) and outside the incoming policy (not first made during its period). Retroactive dates and prior-and-pending exclusions on the incoming policy do not cure that, because the problem is the timing of the claim, not the timing of the act. The fix is either an extended reporting provision on the expiring policy or, on a controlled changeover, an agreed run-off or continuity arrangement.
Condition precedent and the effect of late reporting
Where the reporting requirement sits in the insuring clause, arguments about whether the insurer suffered prejudice from late notice have limited traction: the cover simply has not attached. Where it is drafted as a condition precedent to liability rather than as part of the trigger, the analysis is different but the outcome is often similar. Reading the wording to establish which construction applies is the first thing to do when a late report is discovered.
Circumstances and the deeming provision
Most claims-made-and-reported wordings still allow notification of circumstances during the period, with claims later arising from those circumstances deemed made and reported in that period. That provision does a lot of work under this trigger, because it is the only route by which a matter that has not yet crystallised into a claim can be secured to the current year. It is also the reason the definition of “circumstance” and the mechanics of notification deserve close attention on a claims-made-and-reported policy.
Run-off
On cessation, merger or a change of professional status, run-off cover under a claims-made-and-reported wording has to cover both limbs for the run-off period. A run-off extension that preserves the claims-made limb but not the reporting limb is not much use. This is worth checking in terms, not assuming from the label.
Why it matters
The commercial point is simple. Claims-made-and-reported is cheaper for the insurer to write because it caps the tail with certainty, and that is sometimes reflected in price. The buyer pays for it in administrative discipline: a working definition of a claim, a named recipient, a reporting route that does not depend on one individual, and a diarised check in the final weeks of the policy year. If the business cannot commit to that, the trigger is the wrong one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between claims-made and claims-made-and-reported?
Claims-made asks only when the claim was first made against the insured; notification is dealt with by a separate condition. Claims-made-and-reported requires both that the claim is first made during the period and that it is reported to insurers during the period, so late reporting can defeat cover outright.
What happens if a claim arrives in the last week of the policy year?
It must be reported before the period expires unless the wording provides an extended reporting window. If it is reported after expiry and there is no extension, the expiring policy is not triggered, and the incoming policy will not respond either because the claim was first made before its inception.
Does notifying a circumstance still help under this trigger?
Yes, where the wording contains the usual deeming provision. A circumstance notified during the period brings any claim later arising from it back into that period, which is the main way of protecting a matter that has not yet become a claim.
Related entries
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Next review: 2027-02-22. It is insurance information, not legal advice, and it states the position as at August 2026.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.