Professional Liability Insurance

Insurance policies are created with the intent of covering a large number of business segments. Every business is unique as to what they offer and how they are operated, due to these individual complexities it is almost impossible for one single insurance policy to cover everything a business may offer. Your basic insurance policy, Commercial General Liability covers any claims of your business causing injury or loss whether it be to a customer, tenant, or landlord. These policies do not, however, cover your professional advice and services, management decisions, physical property, computer systems, data and other potential loss exposures that might exist within your business model.

It’s recommended for professionals who provide a service or advice, whether they work within a group of professionals or as solo entrepreneurs. For example: doctors, lawyers, accountants, management consultants, marketers, financial planners, engineers etc.

Professional liability insurance covers financial loss or bodily injury caused to a third party due to a service you provided. It covers legal costs and settlements, usually hefty fees that can cripple a small business or individual practitioner if they had to pay it out of their own pocket.

The most common professional liability coverage that business owners, consultants or practitioners opt for is the $1M/$2M coverage ($1M max pay out for a single claim during a year, $2M max pay out for all claims throughout a year). If you believe risks are higher in your industry or for your specific business, you should consult with your broker about getting a policy with higher limits.

Yes. professional liability insurance covers errors and omissions in the service or advice provided by professionals. In fact, the terms ‘professional liability insurance’ and ‘errors and omissions insurance’ actually refer to the same type of policy.