For occurrence policies, a lawsuit filed years later alleging care during the policy term is still handled by that prior occurrence policy year, subject to its limits and terms. For claims-made policies, however, you generally have no coverage for a new lawsuit filed after expiration unless you have continuous claims-made coverage with the same retroactive date or purchased tail to extend the reporting period.
The risk of coverage gaps: If you simply cancel a claims-made policy without obtaining tail or nose coverage, you are relying on your own balance sheet for any future claims tied to that period of practice. This creates significant uninsured exposure.
Well-structured programs avoid this by maintaining an unbroken retroactive date when changing carriers or by purchasing tail at retirement, physician departures, or program restructures. Because malpractice claims can arise years after treatment — especially in certain specialties like OB/GYN or surgery — planning for post-expiration protection is essential to your risk management strategy.
How Liberty protects your organization: Liberty maps “what-if” scenarios — sale, closure, physician departures — during coverage reviews and renewals to ensure that a policy expiration date never becomes an accidental end to your protection.