Under the terms of typical professional liability and directors’ and officers’ insurance policies, multiple claims that arise out of interrelated wrongful acts are treated as a single claim deemed to have been first made at the time the first of the related claims was made against the insured. Whether the treatment of multiple related claims as a single claim benefits the insured or the insurer depends on the circumstances. Consequently, you may find an insured or an insurer on either side of a related-claims dispute.
In some situations, a claim may be covered under a policy only because it arises out of the same facts as a prior claim. In other circumstances, the existence of a prior related claim may result in the denial of coverage or a limitation on available policy limits.
