Principles for Business

Eleven principles detailed in Block 1 of the FSA Handbook. They are a general statement of the fundamental obligations of firms under the regulatory systems. The principles embrace, inter alia, standards of care, integrity, customer relationships based on trust and dealing with the regulators in an open and cooperative manner. Breaching a principle makes a firm liable to disciplinary action. (Visit www.fsa.gov.uk).

Prior Acts Coverage for Liability Insurance

Liability insurance coverage for claims arising from that occurred before the beginning of the policy period Policies written on a claims made basis, such a Malpractice Liability Insurance and Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance, cover only claims made during the policy period Prior acts coverage is necessary for covering a claim made during a current policy period for an event that happened before a policy was in force.

Prior Acts Date for Liability Insurance

The prior Acts date is also referred to as Retroactive Date. The date that defines the extent of coverage in time under claims made liability policies. The prior acts date is usually the same date from which continuous coverage was first obtained by the current or predecessor firm. Claims resulting from occurrences prior to the policy’s stated retroactive date are not insured. Policies can contain a Prior Acts Date or be designated as having Full Prior Acts. The first year a firm is covered, their prior acts date will most likely be the date of policy inception. It is critical that coverage is maintained continuously to preserve a firms prior acts date and thus coverage of work performed back to that date. A gap in coverage will jeopardize a firms prior acts date. If a firm changes insurance carriers, it is important that the same prior acts date appears on the new policy. With the exception of some non-admitted carriers, most insurance companies will honor a firms prior acts date when switching carriers.