Which type of malpractice insurance covers suits only if malpractice occurred and was reported while the policy is active, often requiring tail coverage when changing jobs?

• A. Occurrence
• B. Tail coverage
• C. No coverage
• D. Claims-made

Answer: (D)

Understanding how malpractice insurance is triggered in different policy types is being tested here. A claims-made policy covers a suit only if the claim is made while the policy is active, and the malpractice occurred during the time the policy was in force (often with a retroactive date). Because coverage depends on the timing of the claim, when you change jobs you typically need tail coverage—an extended reporting period—to cover claims filed after you leave for incidents that happened while you were insured. This differs from an occurrence policy, which covers any incident that happened during the policy period no matter when the claim is filed, so tail coverage isn’t usually needed when switching jobs. Tail coverage is a feature associated with claims-made policies, not a separate stand-alone type. Therefore, the described type is the claims-made policy.