Also known as: Extended reporting period · ERP · Run-off coverage
An option that extends the time to report claims after a claims-made policy ends.
Tail coverage, formally an extended reporting period (ERP), lets you report claims after a claims-made policy has expired or been cancelled, as long as the underlying act occurred during the policy period. Claims-made policies (common for D&O, Tech E&O, professional liability, and cyber) only respond to claims first made while the policy is active. When you switch carriers, let a policy lapse, or wind the company down, tail coverage prevents a gap where an old act surfaces as a new claim with no active policy to respond. It is frequently needed at an acquisition, a shutdown, or a change of insurer.
Tail coverage, or an extended reporting period, lets you report claims after a claims-made policy ends, provided the underlying act happened during the policy period. It closes the gap that would otherwise exist when a claims-made policy expires or is cancelled.
Most often when you switch insurers, let a claims-made policy lapse, get acquired, or shut the company down. In each case an act from the past could still surface as a claim, and tail coverage keeps a policy available to respond to it.
Definitions are educational and may be modified by your specific policy language, endorsements, and state rules. For regulatory guidance, refer to the California Department of Insurance or the NAIC.
Last updated: July 2026.