Professional Liability Insurance protects you as an expert in your business because mistakes happen. Doctors, lawyers, CPAs, Architects and Engineers are a small example of professions that should have this insurance. If your client or customer thinks a mistake in your professional services caused a financial loss, they can sue you. Professional liability insurance helps cover you and your company if you make a mistake or if you are accused of making a mistake in your professional services. This coverage is also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O) or in some countries as professional indemnity insurance. The defense costs in claims like these can be devastating and is the primary reason companies should consider this coverage. Even if you did not do anything wrong, your client can still sue your business if they believe you made a mistake. Without this coverage, you will have to pay expensive legal defense costs out of pocket.
Examples of covered claims include:
- Negligence
- Misrepresentation
- Inaccurate advice
We had a client that was sued by the parents of a child who did not like the way their child’s teeth looked after a couple of years in braces. Another client was sued for not identifying bump in a patient’s mouth that showed up six months after an examination. I can go on and on with examples of claims. Thankfully, we had the proper coverage in place for them with adequate limits.
We live in a very litigious society and the payouts on the claims this coverage provides can be enormous. Make sure you have coverage in place if you have a professional exposure. If you are not sure if you have this exposure give us a call. We often get calls from companies asking us to do an assessment. Use the link below to set up an appointment for an initial consultation with Geoff Johansing and his team.