Glossary

Occurrence policy

A liability policy that covers injury or damage happening during the policy period, no matter when the claim is made, even after the policy has expired.

Also called: occurrence form, occurrence-basis coverage, occurrence coverage, CG 00 01

An occurrence policy responds to when the bodily injury or property damage happened, not when the claim arrives. The ISO general liability form CG 00 01 is written this way: the injury or damage must occur during the policy period, and not be known to you before it began. A customer hurt in 2025 can sue in 2027, and the 2025 policy responds, even if you have since changed carriers or cancelled.

That is the main advantage over a claims-made policy. There is no gap when you switch insurers and no tail coverage to buy when you stop. It suits long-tail exposures such as premises injuries and completed construction work. The limits that respond are the ones from the year of the injury, so a $1 million limit bought years ago is what is available, in old dollars.

The practical pitfall is record keeping. Because an old policy can be triggered decades later, especially for latent injuries and construction defects, businesses should keep every policy, endorsement and certificate permanently and record the insurer's name. Premiums on occurrence forms also tend to be higher than claims-made for the same limit, which is why professional lines are usually written claims-made. The guide on occurrence vs claims-made policies compares the two, and the entry on an occurrence explains how the single event is counted.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

Claims-made policy A liability policy that covers claims first made against you and reported to the insurer during the policy period, whenever the underlying act occurred. Occurrence In liability insurance, the event that triggers coverage and determines which limit and deductible apply; the ISO CGL form defines it as an accident. Tail coverage An option that lets a claims-made policyholder report claims after the policy ends, for wrongful acts that happened while it was in force. Per-occurrence limit The most a liability policy will pay for all damages arising from a single occurrence, however many people are hurt or claims are made. Commercial general liability (CGL) The standard business policy for claims that your operations, premises or products injured someone or damaged property, usually on ISO form CG 00 01.

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Related insurers

Thimble Online agency owned by Arch selling general liability by the hour, month or year. Policies are issued by Markel Insurance Co. and National Specialty.

Related en español

Cobertura de productos y operaciones terminadas Qué cubre el riesgo de productos y operaciones terminadas en la póliza CGL, cuándo un trabajo se da por terminado, su agregado propio y cómo mantenerla vigente. Seguro de responsabilidad civil general: qué cubre y qué no Paga lesiones y daños a terceros y reclamos por publicidad, y defiende la demanda. Qué excluye el formulario ISO y qué determina el precio. Seguro de responsabilidad por venta de alcohol y leyes dram shop Por qué la responsabilidad civil general excluye el alcohol, cómo las leyes dram shop responsabilizan al vendedor, qué cubre la póliza y su precio.