Professional Liability Insurance From $30/Month

Professional liability insurance — also called errors and omissions (E&O) insurance — pays defense costs and damages when a client alleges your professional work, advice, or services caused them financial harm. It's the core coverage for anyone who sells expertise rather than physical products.

The name varies by industry: doctors call it malpractice, tech and consulting call it E&O, and most other fields call it professional liability — but it's the same coverage. It responds to claims of negligence, missed deadlines, breach of contract, and unintentional errors in your deliverables. A general liability policy will not cover these — only physical injury and property damage to third parties.

Most professionals pay $30-$150/month. The drivers, in order:

• Profession. Attorneys, accountants, and healthcare-adjacent pros pay multiples of what marketing or IT consultants pay because claim severity is higher.
• Revenue. Carriers price as a percentage of annual revenue (roughly 0.3%-1.5%).
• Coverage limit. Moving from $250K to $1M, or $1M to $5M, each step adds meaningfully to premium.
• Claims history. One paid claim in five years typically adds 20-30% at renewal.
• Retroactive date. Full prior-acts coverage when switching carriers costs more but eliminates a coverage gap.

They cover fundamentally different risks, and most professionals carry both. General liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage — a client trips in your office. Professional liability (E&O) covers financial damages from your professional services — your advice cost a client money.

If your business gives advice, designs, calculates, or delivers expert work product, general liability alone leaves your biggest exposure uncovered. A claim that your work caused a financial loss is exactly what E&O exists for — and exactly what GL excludes.

Four moves that materially affect your protection:

1. Size your limit to your largest contract. Enterprise master service agreements often require $1M-$5M minimums. Sign without meeting the limit and your policy may not respond.
2. Confirm full prior-acts when switching carriers. Ensure the new policy covers back to your original retroactive date — a gap means prior-work claims aren't covered.
3. Buy a tail at retirement or sale. E&O is claims-made, so add a 3-7 year extended reporting period to cover claims filed after you stop operating.
4. Check the definition of “professional services.” If you add new service lines, update the policy so the new work is actually covered.