Professional Liability Insurance (E&O)
Protect your small business with commercial insurance.
What Is Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional Liability Insurance helps protect your business when a client claims that your professional work or advice caused them a financial loss.
Professional Liability focuses on:
Mistakes in your work
Bad advice or guidance (real or alleged)
Missed deadlines or failures to deliver
Oversights and omissions in your professional services
Professional Liability is designed to help with legal defense costs and settlements or judgments for covered claims, subject to policy terms and limits.
Do I need Professional Liability or General Liability?
Many business owners in California confuse these two coverages. A simple way to explain the difference:
General Liability
Focuses on physical harm
Covers bodily injury and property damage to others
Example: A customer slips in your office and gets hurt.
Professional Liability (E&O)
Focuses on financial harm from your work or advice
Covers certain claims alleging errors, omissions, or negligence
Example: A client claims your advice caused them to lose revenue.
Most professional businesses benefit from having both, because they handle different types of risk.
How QuickBizQuote Helps California Employers Shop Smarter Professional Liability
Independent Insurance Brokerage:
QuickBizQuote is not tied to a single carrier. That means we compare multiple top California markets to help business owners find coverage that fits their operations, budget, and growth plans.
We help you:
Understand the key differences between carriers
Explore pricing, class codes, and rating factors
Identify potential premium savings (experience mods, payroll adjustments, safety programs)
Avoid common mistakes that lead to unexpected costs or compliance issues
Secure fast, same day quotes.
What is Typically Covered with Professional Liability?
Errors or Mistakes in Your Work
Coverage applies when a client claims your work contained an error that caused them financial loss.
Example: A consultant delivers a strategy that the client alleges resulted in lost revenue.
Negligent Advice or Misrepresentation
Protects you when a client accuses you of providing incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading professional guidance.
Failure to Deliver Professional Services
Covers situations where a project is delayed, unfinished, or doesn’t meet professional standards—leading the client to claim financial harm.
Omissions and Oversights
Applies when you unintentionally skip a critical detail, step, or requirement that affects the client’s results or causes loss.
Legal Defense Costs
Includes attorney fees, expert witness costs, and other defense expenses for covered claims subject to policy terms.
Note: Professional Liability policies are commonly written on a “claims-made” basis. This means coverage depends on when the claim is filed and when the alleged act occurred, relative to the policy period and the policy’s retroactive date.
What is NOT Typically Covered with Professional Liability?
Intentional Misconduct or Fraud
Claims involving knowingly dishonest, fraudulent, or criminal acts are not covered.
Bodily Injury or Property Damage
Professional Liability covers financial losses from professional errors, not physical injuries or property damage (these fall under General Liability).
Employment-Related Claims
Issues such as discrimination, wrongful termination, or harassment are handled under Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), not Professional Liability.
Services Not Listed in Your Policy
Work performed outside the scope of your declared professional services may be excluded.
Cyberattacks or Data Breaches
Losses from hacking, ransomware, or stolen data require a separate Cyber Liability policy.
Cost Guarantees or Promised Results
If you guarantee a specific outcome or financial result and fail to deliver, Professional Liability does not cover that promise.
Prior Known Issues
Claims arising from circumstances you knew about before the policy began are excluded unless properly reported and accepted by the carrier.