Professional liability.
If a client says your work or advice cost them money, this policy pays to defend you and, when needed, to settle.
One request, shopped across 60+ carriers by a licensed agent.
About three minutes. No obligation.
What it is
What is professional liability insurance?
Professional liability insurance covers the mistakes that don't leave a dent: claims that your advice, design, or work cost a client money. You'll also see it sold as errors and omissions, or E&O. Same coverage, different label. It pays to defend those claims and, when one sticks, to settle it or pay the judgment.
It exists because general liability only responds to bodily injury and property damage. A consultant's flawed recommendation, an accountant's missed filing, an architect's undersized beam: none of those hurt anyone or broke anything, but each can produce a very real lawsuit. The defense part matters more than people expect, because you get it even when the claim is groundless.
One mechanical detail worth knowing up front: most professional liability policies are written on a claims-made basis, meaning the policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is filed, not the one in force when you did the work. Coverage reaches back only to your retroactive date, and it stops when the policy does unless you buy an extended reporting period, usually called tail coverage. In practice, continuous coverage matters as much as the limit you pick, and switching insurers is something to do carefully, not casually.
Who usually carries it
- Consultants and agencies whose deliverable is advice, plans, or code.
- Architects, engineers, and designers who stamp or sign drawings.
- Accountants, bookkeepers, and tax preparers.
- IT providers and software shops, usually alongside cyber.
- Real estate professionals, inspectors, and anyone whose client contract demands E&O.
Coverage
What professional liability coverage handles.
Negligence in your professional work
A claim that you failed to use the care your profession requires (a flawed design, an incorrect recommendation, a misread requirement) and a client lost money because of it.
Errors and omissions
Not just what you did wrong, but what you left out: a missed filing deadline, an overlooked clause, a step skipped in a process you were hired to run.
Legal defense costs
Attorneys, expert witnesses, and court costs even when the claim has no merit, though on most forms defense spending comes out of your limit, which is a reason to size it honestly.
Settlements and judgments
When a claim resolves against you, the policy pays what you legally owe up to the limit, including the negotiated settlements most of these claims actually end in.
Past work, back to your retroactive date
Work performed before the policy started is covered, provided it happened after your retroactive date and you didn't already know about the problem when you bought the policy.
Exclusions: read these first
What it does not cover.
Every policy has edges. Knowing them now is the difference between a covered claim and a surprise.
Bodily injury and property damage
A client tripping over your laptop bag is general liability's job. This policy answers financial harm from your work, not physical harm from your presence.
Work done before your retroactive date
If your retroactive date is the day you first bought coverage, everything before it is uninsured no matter how many years of policies follow, and letting coverage lapse typically resets the date.
Claims filed after the policy ends
Cancel without buying tail coverage and next month's claim for last year's work lands on you alone, the trap for anyone retiring, selling, or switching insurers.
Intentional and dishonest acts
Fraud and willful misconduct are excluded. Some policies defend you until the dishonesty is proven, none pay once it is.
Fee disputes and guarantees you made
A client refusing to pay your invoice, or holding you to a result your contract promised, is a business dispute, not a covered claim.
Where carriers differ
No two E&O forms define 'professional services' quite the same way, so we read the specific definition, and the exclusions stacked after it, before you buy.
The code that changed in January
A two-person mechanical engineering firm stamps the HVAC drawings for a dental office build-out. The load calculations follow the energy code the engineer has used for years, but the state adopted a stricter version in January, and this project's permit falls under the new one. The city inspector fails the rough-in, the ductwork has to be resized and partially rebuilt, and the opening slips by seven weeks. The dentist bills the firm for the rework and the extra rent, then hires a lawyer when the firm disputes it.
How the coverage responds: the firm reports the demand letter the day it arrives (claims-made policies expect prompt reporting), and the insurer assigns a defense attorney, brings in an independent engineer to test how much of the delay is actually attributable to the drawings, and negotiates a settlement covering the rework and part of the delay costs. The firm pays its deductible and keeps the client, more or less. Without the policy, or with a retroactive date accidentally reset by switching insurers the previous fall, the same letter becomes a legal bill and a settlement that two partners fund personally, out of the fees from every other project that year.
An illustrative example, not a real claim. Actual coverage depends on the policy issued.
What moves the price
We don’t quote prices on a website. Anyone who does is guessing. These are the factors underwriters actually weigh.
- What you do: a structural engineer's mistake can cost a client far more than a marketing consultant's, and underwriters price accordingly.
- Annual revenue and typical project size, since larger engagements mean larger potential claims.
- The per-claim and aggregate limits you choose, and the deductible or retention you're willing to carry.
- Your claims history, including prior claims, demand letters, and any professional discipline.
- Years in practice and professional credentials, because experience is underwriting shorthand for fewer mistakes.
- How far back your retroactive date reaches. More covered history costs more than coverage that starts today.
- Whether you use written contracts and engagement letters that define scope, since undefined scope is where claims breed.
Credits that can move this price
The factors above push the price up. These are the named credits that pull it back. Which ones exist, and what they’re worth, varies by carrier and state. We check every one that could apply before we quote.
- Claims-free credit at renewal
- Risk-management credit for completing the carrier's loss-prevention course
- Contract-practice credits for written engagement letters that define scope
- Years-in-practice credit for seasoned firms
- Professional-association program pricing where your field sponsors one
- Continuing-education credits in some professions
Questions
Professional Liability, asked and answered.
Reviewed by a licensed property & casualty agent · Updated July 2026
Pairs with
Coverage that usually travels together.
- 01General LiabilityPays when your business injures someone or damages their property. The baseline policy nearly every lease, contract, and client asks you to carry.Explore →
- 02Cyber LiabilityCovers breach response, ransomware, and funds-transfer fraud: the losses a property policy was never written for.Explore →
- 03Business Owner's PolicyLiability, property, and lost income in one policy. The standard small-business package, and usually cheaper than buying the pieces.Explore →
What happens next
A licensed agent reads it
Your request goes to a person, not a queue, the same business day.
We shop the carriers
We quote it across the markets that actually write this line and compare what comes back.
You decide
Options side by side, in plain English. Nothing is bound until you confirm it in writing.
Rather do the whole thing by phone? Call (917) 246-7038.
Carrier count reflects current appointments. Availability varies by state and line.
Start here
Let's price your professional liability coverage.
Tell us what you need. We shop it across 60+ carriers. You pick, and nothing is in force until it's confirmed in writing.
About three minutes. No obligation.
