General liability answers for a visitor who trips in your office. It does nothing for a client who says your advice cost them money. Professional liability — errors and omissions — covers the work itself: the missed deadline, the wrong number, the design that had to be redone.
Also sold as E&O, and for design firms as professional indemnity. Here's each piece in plain English.
The core of it: a claim that your professional work fell short and cost the client money. Whether or not you were at fault, the policy responds to the allegation.
Lawyers, experts and the cost of proving you were right. On most E&O forms defense erodes the limit rather than sitting on top of it, so a $1M limit is not $1M of settlement money.
Nearly all E&O is claims-made: it responds to claims reported while the policy is live, not to work performed while it was live. This is the most misunderstood feature of the product.
How far back your past work is covered. Keep it as early as you can and never let it reset — a new retro date quietly strips cover from everything before it.
The window to report claims after the policy ends. If you retire, sell or switch carriers, tail coverage is what stops old work becoming an uninsured problem.
Defamation, disparagement and copyright issues arising from the professional work — commonly included, and increasingly relevant for anyone publishing content for clients.
Work you sub out but remain contractually responsible for. Confirm it is covered and that your subs carry their own limits.
Consultants, IT and marketing firms, accountants, architects and engineers, real estate professionals, staffing and management companies — and anyone whose contract requires it by name.
Answered the way we'd answer them on the phone.
General liability covers physical harm — someone hurt, something broken. Professional liability covers financial harm caused by your work or advice. A client suing over a flawed deliverable is not a GL claim, and most businesses that sell expertise need both.
The policy in force when the claim is reported responds — not the one in force when you did the work. Let coverage lapse and a claim about last year's project has nothing to attach to, which is why continuity and the retroactive date matter so much.
On most E&O forms, yes. A drawn-out defense can consume a meaningful share of the limit before any settlement. Some carriers offer defense outside the limit for more premium, and we'll price both so the trade-off is yours.
Very likely. Because the trigger is the report date, claims can surface after you stop trading. Extended reporting — tail cover — keeps that window open, usually for one to six years, and is bought once at the end.
Tell us what services you provide, your annual revenue, and whether you've carried E&O before — the retroactive date on your current policy matters. A licensed NY agent will shop it across the professional lines markets.