Tools

Tail coverage cost calculator

Prices an extended reporting period on a claims-made policy at your policy's percentages and compares it with nose (prior-acts) coverage from a new insurer.

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A claims-made policy pays only for claims first reported while it is in force. When you cancel, retire, sell the business or switch insurers, a tail (an extended reporting period) keeps the door open for claims about work you did earlier. This tool prices the tail options and compares them with buying prior-acts ("nose") coverage from the next insurer. The percentages it opens with are placeholders, not market rates.

How to use it

  1. Expiring annual premium. The annual premium of the claims-made policy you are leaving, from your declarations page or renewal invoice.
  2. Tail options. Five rows: one, two, three and five years, and unlimited. Replace the example percentages with the ones in your policy's extended reporting provision, usually in the conditions or an endorsement. If you cannot find it, ask your broker for the insurer's written tail terms.
  3. Nose coverage (optional). The extra premium the new insurer charges each year to cover your prior acts, and how many years you expect to pay it. Leave it blank if you have no quote.

The math

Each tail costs the expiring annual premium times that option's percentage, as a one-time premium. The headline shows the lowest and highest result. With a $12,000 premium and the placeholder percentages of 100%, 150%, 175%, 200% and 250%, the tails cost $12,000, $18,000, $21,000, $24,000 and $30,000.

The nose comparison is the extra yearly premium times the years. A hypothetical example: the new insurer adds $4,000 a year for prior acts and you expect to carry it for three years, so the nose costs $12,000 over that time.

Assumptions and limits

  • The percentages are examples. Real terms vary by insurer, policy form and profession, and some policies offer only certain lengths.
  • A tail does not extend the policy period. It adds time to report claims arising from incidents before the policy ended, usually under the expiring aggregate limit. It covers no new work.
  • The policy sets a short deadline for buying the tail. Check the provision as soon as you plan to cancel, retire or switch, not after the policy ends.
  • Some professional policies provide a tail at no charge on death, disability or retirement. Look for that before you pay.
  • Nose coverage keeps your old retroactive date with the new insurer, so earlier work stays covered as long as you keep renewing there. A tail ends when its period does, unless it is unlimited, but you can change insurers again. The new insurer will also ask about incidents and circumstances you already know of, and those generally stay with the old policy.
  • The comparison adds up dollars. It does not discount them, and it does not compare limits, deductibles, exclusions or whether the new insurer will offer prior-acts coverage at all.
  • The tool is for claims-made forms. An occurrence policy needs no tail.

Your broker should lay out the options before your policy ends. Read tail coverage and extended reporting periods and prior acts coverage and retroactive dates for the mechanics, and occurrence vs claims-made policies if you are unsure which form you have. The glossary defines tail coverage, the extended reporting period and the retroactive date.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

Related guides

Tail coverage and extended reporting periods How an extended reporting period (tail) lets you report claims after a claims-made policy ends, when you need one, how it is priced, and when to elect it. Prior acts coverage and retroactive dates The retroactive date is a claims-made policy's cutoff: work before it is not covered. How it is set, how switching carriers resets it, and how to keep it. Occurrence vs claims-made policies How occurrence and claims-made liability policies decide which year's policy pays, why retroactive dates and tails matter, and which lines use each trigger. Professional liability (E&O) insurance explained What professional liability covers, how claims-made triggers and retroactive dates work, what it excludes, and what clients' contracts typically ask for. How to switch business insurance carriers without a gap A step-by-step plan for changing commercial insurers: when to switch, what to ask for, claims-made retro dates, contract endorsements and the order to cancel.

Terms used here

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. Extended reporting period A window after a claims-made policy ends during which claims can still be reported for incidents that happened while the coverage was in force. 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. Retroactive date The date in a claims-made policy before which wrongful acts are not covered, even if the claim is made and reported while the policy is in force. Prior acts coverage Coverage under a claims-made policy for wrongful acts committed before the policy began, reaching back to its retroactive date or without a limit.

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