The coverage trigger identifies when injury or damage occurred for purposes of determining which policies respond. For a discrete event the answer is obvious, but for progressive harm such as disease, contamination, or construction defects it is contested.
Courts apply several theories: exposure, which triggers policies in force during exposure; manifestation, which triggers the policy when damage became apparent; injury-in-fact; and continuous trigger, which activates every policy from exposure through manifestation.
Alternative Names:
Trigger of Coverage
Why it Matters?
Trigger selection determines how many policy years and how many limits are available, and it precedes any allocation analysis. In asbestos, environmental, and abuse claims a continuous trigger can activate decades of coverage, while a manifestation trigger may confine the loss to a single year, changing available limits by orders of magnitude.
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Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why does the trigger theory matter?
Which trigger applies to construction defect claims?
