Many business owners who carry General Liability Insurance do so because
someone requires proof of it for a variety of reasons. Could be a property
owner, whose space your business occupies or a company you are doing work for.
But Professional liability, also known as Errors and Omissions (E&O) or
Malpractice depending on the industry, is often overlooked, especially by new
business owners just trying to get their business off the ground. Now if you
are a Professional who operates as a consultant, odds are your industry may
require it just like General Liability. Some of these professionals include
Insurance Agents like me, Accountants, Lawyers, Doctors, or Financial Advisors.
Professional Liability essential covers your business when someone at your
firm gives bad advice, makes a mistake during their work, or poor workmanship.
You can see how a Lawyer or Doctor may be sued for the mistakes they make, but about
every business owner could find themselves being sued for these things. The
real benefit to this policy is that even if the lawsuit is frivolous, the
policy will have a duty to defend the policyholder and their employees. A long
drawn our lawsuit could bankrupt a business that is running on tight margins,
so you must ask yourself, can you afford not to have Professional Liability
Insurance?
One of the classes of business that we often see lacking this coverage is
Contractors. Many Contracting businesses are family run businesses. These
Owners typically take pride in the work they do and take extra care to do an
excellent job. But what if you have employees and they are having a difficult
day? One example I often give is a roofer that misses a piece of flashing on a
new roof. This results in a small roof leak that goes unnoticed for an extended
period, resulting in $40,000 in water damage to the interior of the home.
Because this was the result of faulty work, your general liability will not
provide coverage, you need professional liability or Contractors E&O in the
instance.
Think about your business and what could potentially go wrong! If you are
still unsure if you need Professional Liability, give us a call and we would be
happy to do a risk analysis and policy review to see how we can help you to
ensure you have coverage at the time of loss.
