It is an important (material) term of your insurance policy that governs how far back in time you are protected. As noted, most FPL policies provide coverage for claims arising out of negligent acts, errors or omissions committed by the Insured in the course of rendering “professional services.” However, the coverage under the policy must arise from “professional services” rendered either during the policy period or subsequent to a specified “retroactive” date. In other words, if your retroactive date was “January 1, 2012” and a claim was made during the policy period alleging liability arising out of your conduct performed say solely in 2011, you would not be covered. Indeed, under that example, any activities performed before the January 1, 2012 retroactive date would not be covered.