Professional Liability Insurance

What is professional liability insurance?

As a trained professional in your field, you are legally responsible for providing clients with trustworthy advice or service. Keeping yourself safe is essential if an accident or mistake happens.

Additionally, you could face a lawsuit whenever a client thinks you've made a mistake — regardless of whether you did or not.

What does executive and professional liability insurance cover?

Much like the name implies, errors and omissions insurance protects your business from litigation based upon any errors or accidental omissions you make, along with the failure of your work to perform as promised or intended.

It's important to remember that executive and professional liability differs from general liability insurance. While the two sound similar, E&O insurance covers damages or harm arising from your direct actions. In contrast, general liability insurance can help cover claims that your business caused injury to a third party by property damage, bodily injury, or copyright infringement.

Here are a few examples of coverages included in a professional liability (E&O) insurance policy:

• Negligence
• Misrepresentation
• Violation of good faith and fair dealing
• Inaccurate advice
• Undelivered services
• Missed deadlines
• Incomplete work
• Break of contract

Who needs professional liability in Mississippi?

This answer can vary from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is "anyone who makes a living off their expertise."

Examples of careers that can benefit from a professional liability insurance policy include:

• Architects
• Engineers
• General Contractors
• Real Estate Agents
• Insurance Professionals
• Land Surveyors
• The list goes on and on.

If you're still unsure, do a brief self-evaluation by asking yourself the following question:

Do I provide professional services or advice to other businesses or individuals?

If your answer is yes, we highly recommend you protect yourself and your business with a professional liability or E&O policy.

For some professions, there are federal or state laws in place requiring professional liability insurance. The list of occupations is long, and you will likely need to research your local laws to ensure you aren't violating any.

However, examples of careers with professional liability insurance coverage requirements by state include:

Government contractors

If you work on any project under a government contract, you are legally required to carry and maintain a professional liability insurance policy.

Medical professionals

This is not limited to surgeons and general physicians. Other medical professionals who may need or benefit from specialized medical professional liability insurance include social workers, therapists, counselors, physical therapists, and pharmacists.

Attorneys

Only some states require professional liability insurance. However, there are disclosure laws in place in many states requiring you to disclose whether you have insurance to clients or state bar associations.

Real estate professionals

To maintain a legal real estate license in many states, you must provide certification that you carry an active errors and omissions insurance policy.

What does professional liability insurance look like?

As a specialized professional, you have unique needs, and what works for one person may not work for you. Not every professional liability insurance policy looks the same.

Claims-made and occurrence policies are the two most common coverage options. While both give you a second line of defense, they have fundamental differences.

• Claims-made policies only cover a claim if both the service or advice was provided and the lawsuit was filed while the policy was active.
• Occurrence policies will cover claims that take place during the coverage period, even if the treatment did not occur during the active policy.

Where do I start?

Business insurance in Mississippi can be a complex process of finding the insurance policy that best fits your needs. We're here to help you identify your potential risks and liabilities and then work with you to tailor an insurance plan that will protect you and your business. Let's get started protecting what's yours.