Changing professional liability insurer: what happens to earlier work?

Map the dates that need clarification

Fictional example: a consultant considers another insurer’s quotation. She completed a project in the previous year and continues similar work. Instead of comparing only premiums, she asks how earlier work and relevant dates are treated, without assuming a new quotation responds to every future claim.

Place the existing and proposed policy periods side by side. Mark dates of relevant acts and any known communication or circumstance where applicable, without withholding information to seek acceptance. Organising dates does not determine cover or replace the duties and procedures stated in the actual contract.

Read the temporal clause, not just the insurance label

Article 139 of Portugal’s Insurance Contract Law permits clauses that define the coverage period by reference, for example, to the event causing damage, when damage becomes apparent or when a claim is made. A comparison should therefore identify which timing matters under the contract, subject to applicable legislation and regulations.

Ask whether the quotation operates by claims made and notified during a specified period and how that relates to the act’s date. If retroactivity is mentioned, clarify its actual date and conditions. Do not treat a marketing expression as unlimited retroactivity without locating the relevant clause and understanding how it applies.

Sources: ASF — Portuguese Insurance Contract Law, article 139; checked 20/10/2026 ↗

Request a written continuity comparison

Provide the relevant terms to the intermediary and ask for temporal differences between the current policy and alternative to be identified. Ask about the procedure for known circumstances or claims. The same activity name does not establish a new insurer’s acceptance of a previous matter.

If a quotation proposes a future start, distinguish quotation, acceptance and issue. Do not cancel insurance based solely on this article or an estimate of continuity. Any change requires assessment of the actual documents, obligations and procedures; this text neither recommends cancellation nor determines professional liability. Keep an unresolved question open until there is a documented answer.

Prepare a review with sufficient references

Read the Professional Liability guide on rmachado.group and select RC Profissional to request assessment in Portugal. Explain the activity and continuity-comparison objective. Contractual records and confidential correspondence should only use the appropriate channel indicated, without customer data in comments. Keep the response with the versions compared so its exact scope remains clear.