Who and what does Professional Liability cover?

Professional liability insurance covers liability for damages arising from the delivery of or failure to provide professional services.

This line of coverage protects you and your business from claims not covered by commercial general liability coverage.

Professional liability insurance, also referred to as professional indemnity insurance, protects professional personnel against negligence claims made by their patients, customers or clients.

The need for professional liability coverage developed due to typical general liability insurance policies only responding to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury or advertising injury claims.

Professionals who commonly purchase this type of liability insurance include architects, home inspectors, lawyers, physicians, real estate brokers and accountants among others in similar roles.

Specific professional liability insurance carries different names depending on the profession.

For example, professional liability insurance in the medical profession may be called medical malpractice insurance, while real estate brokers are covered under errors and omissions insurance.

Common claims made on these policies include negligence, misrepresentation, violation of good faith and fair dealing, and inaccurate advice.

For example, if a web design platform fails to perform properly, it would not cause bodily injury, property damage or advertising injuries.

Because of this, the general liability policy would not be triggered.

However the professional liability coverage would be triggered because failure may lead to a misrepresentation of the platform’s capabilities, or an inability to deliver what was promised.

Both of these could directly cause financial losses to their client.

Other ways to protect your business, in addition to professional liability insurance, include the following:

Establish a high standard for product, service, and quality control at your organization.
Keep all company records up-to-date and accurate.
Train employees thoroughly and properly.
Ask your broker for safety and compliance information.

When buying professional liability coverage, there are many different considerations that will help you determine exactly what you need so be sure to work with an experienced broker.

We are available any time to answer your insurance or risk management questions. We will see you again soon!