What is the nose to tail policy?

Nose coverage, also known as prior acts coverage, is designed to cover claims for incidents that occurred before the insured’s new policy start date but were not reported under a previous claims-made policy. When switching insurers, nose coverage is commonly requested on the new insurer’s policy as an alternative to purchasing tail coverage from the prior insurer. Nose coverage is traditionally needed if a professional is switching insurers. This type of coverage ensures the professional is protected for claims arising from events that happened before the start of the new coverage. Nose coverage is put into place when the new insurer agrees to cover claims made after the new policy begins but relating to acts that occurred before the new policy’s effective date. Nose coverage is typically arranged by defining a retroactive date, which dictates how far back the policy will cover prior incidents. Tail coverage or Extended Reporting Period (ERP) is an optional add-on to claims-made policy that allows insureds to report claims that arise after the policy expires but are based on incidents that occurred while the policy was active. Tail Coverage ensures that these claims can still be reported even after the policy ends.