Opinion ID: 2742517
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nature of the 2010 Policy

Text: The 2010 Policy is a claims-made medical malpractice policy, which has been legislatively defined as “a policy which covers claims which are reported during the policy period, meet the provisions specified by the policy, and are for an incident which occurred during the policy period, or occurred prior to the policy period, as is specified by the policy.” W.Va. Code § 33-20D-2(b) (2011). Malpractice coverage can also be provided through an “occurrence” policy. In distinguishing these two types of polices, we have recognized that an “occurrence” policy “protects [] [the] policyholder from liability for any act done while the policy is in effect, whereas a ‘claims-made’ policy protects the holder only against claims 8 made during the life of the policy.” Auber v. Jellen, 196 W.Va. 168, 174, 469 S.E.2d 104, 110 (1996). Bearing these distinctions in mind, we turn to the claims-made policy at issue—the 2010 Policy.