Category: Reinsurance fundamentals · Reviewed by Chrissie Anderson, Client Executive · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
Claims made reinsurance is an attachment basis under which the treaty responds to claims first made against the cedant — or, in some wordings, first notified by the cedant to the reinsurer — during the treaty period. It is used primarily for liability classes where the underlying insurance is also written on a claims-made basis.
Category: Reinsurance fundamentals Also known as: claims made and reported (CMR), claims notified basis Related concepts: risk attaching basis, loss occurring basis, reinsurance treaty
Under a claims made reinsurance, the trigger is neither the date of loss nor the inception date of the underlying policy: it is the date on which the claim is first made or notified. A 2024 claims made treaty responds to claims first made (or notified) during 2024, irrespective of when the underlying acts or omissions giving rise to the claim took place.
The basis mirrors the claims made trigger of the underlying professional indemnity, directors and officers and similar liability covers. Aligning the reinsurance trigger with the underlying policy trigger ensures that the cedant’s claim against the reinsurer arises in the same period as the cedant’s liability to the original insured.
A claims made reinsurance contract is governed by the Insurance Act 2015 in respect of the duty of fair presentation and by general principles of English law. The slip and wording must define with precision the date a claim is ‘made’ — typically the date the cedant first becomes aware of a circumstance that may give rise to a loss notifiable under the reinsurance.
Claims made reinsurance is used principally for professional indemnity, directors and officers, employment practices liability and similar liability classes. It produces a cleaner reinsurer result than risk attaching because all the reinsurer’s losses are crystallised by the end of the treaty year.
The basis is less common for short-tail business (property, motor) where loss occurring is the standard, and is rarely used for proportional reinsurance.
An illustrative example: a UK solicitors’ professional indemnity insurer purchases an XL reinsurance on a claims made basis for the 2024 treaty year. A claim notified by an insured firm to the cedant on 17 March 2024, arising from advice given by the firm in 2018, is recoverable under the 2024 reinsurance.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
Apex Insurance Brokers serves UK professional services firms and commercial businesses. Call 0117 325 0027, email hello@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk, or request a quotation.
Get a quote