In addition, most policies also exclude claims of which you knew or should have known at the time you purchased insurance. Prior acts restrictions exclude coverage for acts that occurred before a certain date or on behalf of a certain firm. A policy with a retroactive date usually does not cover acts occurring before the retroactive date. Insurers may not cover your prior acts due to your claims history or the history of your former firm. In general, if you have left a large firm that is likely to maintain insurance, you do not need prior acts coverage.
Most policies cover former members of the firm for their acts on behalf of the firm.
If the prior firm has dissolved, however, you may want to try to obtain prior acts coverage. The statute of limitations for legal malpractice is, in many situations, two years from the date of discovery of the error by the client. You want to know how your carrier will treat you when you have a claim. Some carriers may dictate choice of counsel without asking for your input in the event you are sued. Similarly, some carriers have provisions in their policy that put significant conditions on your decision on whether or not a claim should be settled.