Professional Liability Insurance
In an era of hyper-specialization, people have become increasingly dependent on the 'expert advice' and services of modern day professionals in every sphere of their lives. Professionals or specialists play a vital role in areas of healthcare, medicine, education, business, law & justice, real estate, the financial sector and information technology.
Why do you require Professional Liability Insurance?
The responsibility laid on professionals is enormous, considering the fact that your clients place implicit trust on your services, advice or judgement. You may be an expert in your area of business, but that does not make you infallible. Busy work schedules may require you to multi task and mistakes due to oversight can occur at any time.
- Professional Liability Insurance coverage is designed to offer you protection in the event of negligence, malpractice or misrepresentation.
- Even small businesses are required to carry Professional Liability Insurance in compliance with industry standards.
What is Professional Liability Insurance or E&O Insurance?
Professional liability insurance or Errors and Omissions Insurance is a specialty coverage
- It is not included in a Business Owner's Policy (BOP), or in an in-home business policy or under homeowners' endorsements.
- It usually covers claims made against the insured during the policy period.
- It protects your company, workers and other professionals from third party claims arising out of inadequate or negligent work.
There are two types of Professional Liability coverages available. Choosing the best option for your individual or company needs is an important decision you have to make. Our expert agents can assist you make that choice.
- 1. Claims Made Policy
- Professional Liability Insurance Policies generally operate on "claims made" basis and cover claims that occur, and are reported by you, during the active policy period.
- 2. Occurrence Policy
- Provides you with lifetime coverage for the policy period, irrespective of when you report a claim. Since there is no time limit in which a claim can be reported, an Occurrence Policy is more expensive.
- For instance a doctor purchases a professional liability policy in 2015, treats a patient in 2016 and for some reason terminates the policy in 2019. If the patient sues the doctor in 2020 for an incident that occurred in 2016, the doctor is still protected by the policy since it was active when the event took place.
A Professional Liability Insurance Policy is known by many names, depending on the industry you work in.
Malpractice Insurance
It is a professional Liability Insurance typically purchased by lawyers, doctors and other health care professionals such as personal trainers, fitness specialists and health and wellness providers.
A recent Johns Hopkins study claims that more than 250,000 people die in the United States every year from medical errors, making it the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer!
Many of these patients die in hospital from medical negligence related to incorrect diagnosis, improper treatment or poor post-surgery advice.
Malpractice Insurance protects you from legal claims by clients or patients against real or alleged injury or damage.
Technology Errors & Omissions Insurance (Tech E&O)
This type of coverage is specifically designed for Technology companies and provides protection against claims by clients, essentially for financial damages.
Software engineers & developers, systems administrators, information security analysts, web designers, app designers, programmers, digital marketers and consultants are some of the IT professionals that can benefit from this insurance coverage.
Technology Errors & Omissions Insurance offers financial protection, against first and third party claims, on products and services provided by tech companies.
What does Tech E&O cover?
The most common claims raised these days relate to breaches in network security and extortion.
A Tech E& O policy protects your company from the damaging effects of a data breach due to employee negligence. Revenue loss and reputational damage could cripple your company.
Sometimes personal and confidential data gets stolen online, exposing you to various forms of cyber-crime. You might want to add special endorsements to your existing Tech E& O policy that cover cyber liability, copyright infringement, project delays and warranty claims.
Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance
In law firms, mistakes in filing records and paperwork cause delays that can impact judicial proceedings. Failure to know or apply law are errors in professional judgement that could go against your client's interest and give rise to malpractice claims against you and your firm.
This insurance covers costs to defend you against lawsuits and expensive judgements or settlements that may follow.
Tax Preparers & Bookkeepers (E & O) Insurance
Financial accounting professionals like bookkeepers, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, tax preparers and tax consultants are exposed to liability risks and malpractice claims in their accounting practices.
Accounting professionals need to be aware of changes in accounting laws and rules and its impact on the way they conduct or contract business. Failure to adopt and implement changes could have serious implications on reported financial results. Your clients could end up paying additional taxes, interest or penalties.
A Tax Prepares & Bookkeepers Insurance cannot possibly prevent these errors from occurring but this insurance coverage will definitely help minimize risk exposure to claims and lawsuits.
Bankers Professional Liability (BPL) Insurance
This type of Insurance coverage is written for banks and financial institutions. It covers professionals in the financial industry including escrow agents, tax planners, financial planners, and estate planners. It may also include coverage options for asset management professionals.
The policy covers financial or economic loss, resulting from mistakes or wrongdoing committed by the employees of banks or financial institutions, in the process of providing financial services.
Professional Liability Insurance for Architects and Engineers
Architects, engineers and construction professionals face unique risks while conceptualizing and going forward with building projects. Sometimes errors occur at the 'design stage' when flaws in architectural drawing or specifications, escape scrutiny. In addition, communication or rather miscommunication between building managers, supervisors and field workers during the different phases of construction could prove costly if negligent actions are followed up with claims and lawsuits.
A Professional Liability Insurance is like any other form of insurance. The chances are you may never need it, but if you do, you'll be glad that you are covered.
There are hundreds of classes of professionals, each needing professional liability insurance, that helps protect these professionals - such as lawyers, accountants and physicians from claims by their clients. The claims are usually due to errors and omissions or other forms or supposed negligence.
We can help you find the insurance coverage best suited to your needs.