Understanding Prior Acts Dates in Legal Malpractice Insurance: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know
With claims-made legal malpractice insurance, one of the most misunderstood — yet critically important — policy features is the prior acts date. Whether you’re a solo practitioner, part of a growing law firm, or transitioning between policies, understanding how prior acts coverage can mean the difference between a covered claim and a costly out-of-pocket expense. The prior acts date may seem like a minor detail on your legal malpractice policy, but in practice, it plays a pivotal role in whether you’re protected against past mistakes. Maintaining continuous claims-made coverage is a fundamental part of risk management for any law practice.
What Is a Prior Acts Date?
A prior acts date (also called a retroactive date) is the earliest date on which a legal service is covered under a claims-made policy. Claims-made policy forms are standard for legal malpractice insurance.
With an occurrence policy form the policy in-force at the time the alleged act occurred provides the coverage. With legal malpractice policies the coverage is from the policy in-force at the time the claim is made, as long as the act in question occurred on or after the prior acts date and other policy conditions are met.
Why Prior Acts Coverage Matters
Let’s say you handled a real estate transaction for a client in 2021. In 2025, that client files a malpractice claim related to the transaction. If your current policy has a prior acts date of January 1, 2020 and you’ve maintained continuous claims-made coverage that claim can potentially be covered. But if your current policy’s prior acts date is 2023 because of a lapse in coverage or a policy change, the same claim would likely be denied.
Common Scenarios to Watch For
- Switching Carriers
When switching insurance carriers, it’s essential to ensure your new policy honors your original prior acts date. Most reputable insurers will do this as long as there has been no gap in coverage.
- Coverage Lapses
Even a brief lapse in coverage — such as missing a renewal payment — can reset your prior acts date to the inception date of the new policy. This effectively wipes out coverage for your prior legal work and could expose you to uncovered claims.
- Hiring or Merging
When attorneys join your firm, make sure their prior acts are addressed in the application process. A new hire’s legal history isn’t automatically covered unless you’ve specifically secured individual prior acts coverage (sometimes called career coverage) for them.
- Retirement or Firm Dissolution
Attorneys leaving practice or closing a firm need to consider tail coverage (also known as Extended Reporting Period coverage). This allows claims to be reported after the policy ends for acts performed during the firm’s active years — but it only applies if the prior acts date remains intact.
Best Practices
- Never let your coverage lapse.
- Keep documentation of all prior acts dates from current and previous carriers.
- Review each attorney’s history when purchasing or renewing a policy.
- Consider full prior acts coverage when available (some carriers offer “no retro date” coverage if underwriting supports it).
- Work with a knowledgeable L Squared Insurance Agent who understands how legal malpractice insurance and policy transitions work.
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Lee Norcross, MBA, CPCU
California License # 0D87292
L Squared Insurance Agency, LLC ® DBA in California as L2 L Squared Insurance Agency, License # 0L93416
Managing Director, CEO
Lee@L2Ins.com
616-726-7080
