Professional liability (errors & omissions)
General liability covers people who get hurt. Professional liability covers people who lose money because of your advice, your design or your service. If clients pay you for expertise, this is the policy that responds when they say you got it wrong.
What professional liability covers
- Negligence — an error, omission or failure to deliver the professional standard of care.
- Defence costs — lawyers and experts, which in a professional dispute are often the bulk of the cost even when you did nothing wrong.
- Settlements and judgments — the client's financial loss.
- Often included — disciplinary proceedings cover, libel and slander arising from professional services, breach of contract arising from negligence.
Most E&O forms are about financial loss and leave bodily injury and property damage to general liability — though medical, beauty and design-professional policies do cover injury arising from the professional work itself. None cover deliberate wrongdoing, and most exclude data breaches, which need cyber cover (some carriers bundle the two).
Names for the same thing
Professional liability, errors and omissions (E&O), malpractice, professional indemnity — different industries use different names for essentially the same policy. Some professions have their own specialised forms: miscellaneous professional liability for consultants and service firms, technology E&O for IT, A&E professional for architects and engineers, and medical malpractice for clinicians.
Never let the policy lapse
Claims for professional work often arrive years after the job. Because the policy responds based on when the claim is made, a gap in coverage can leave years of past work uninsured. If you close the business or retire, buy tail coverage before the policy ends.
Common triggers
- A client says your advice or report caused them to lose money.
- A missed deadline or filing with financial consequences.
- A software project delivered late or not to spec.
- A design error found after construction.
- A disgruntled client who wants a refund and hires a lawyer to get it. Even baseless claims cost money to defend — which is what the policy pays.
What I need to quote
- What services you provide, and the split by revenue if there's more than one.
- Annual revenue and the largest single contract.
- Professional qualifications and years in practice.
- Whether you use written contracts with limitation-of-liability clauses.
- Any claims or circumstances you're aware of.
Request a quote — for many service businesses I can bundle professional, general liability and cyber in one package.
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
What does 'claims-made' mean?
Most professional liability policies cover claims made while the policy is in force, for work done after a set retroactive date. If you cancel the policy, claims that come in afterwards for old work aren't covered unless you buy tail (extended reporting) coverage. Keeping the policy continuous — and keeping the retroactive date — matters more than with any other policy.
Do I need it if I have general liability?
GL excludes professional services almost entirely. If a client sues because your plan, advice, code or report caused them a financial loss with nobody physically hurt, GL doesn't respond. That's the gap E&O fills.
Who typically needs it?
Consultants, bookkeepers and accountants, real estate agents, insurance agents, architects and engineers, IT and software firms, marketing agencies, home inspectors, personal trainers, therapists and counsellors, medical and allied-health practitioners, and anyone whose client contract requires it.
How much does it cost?
For a small consulting or service business, often under $1,000 a year for $1 million in limits. Design professionals, financial services and healthcare cost more. Revenue, services, contract sizes and claims history drive the price.
Let's talk it through
A phone call or a message is all it takes. The first conversation is just a conversation.