Professional Liability Insurance

Most businesses need professional liability coverage because it provides protection from unexpected expenses if you are accused of a professional mistake. 

Let’s say you’re a plumber installing a sink. You drop your heavy wrench and scratch expensive antique furniture. Most general liability policies would cover that property damage. 

Now, say you install the sink with no issue, but a month later the customer says you caused plumbing damage and they have to replace all their bathroom pipes. That’s where professional liability comes in.

If a customer claims you made a mistake — whether you did or not — professional liability coverage can help you move on quickly, avoiding customer confrontations and protecting your reputation. 

If you’re ruled at fault for a mistake, missed deadline or professional negligence, NEXT insurance can help you cover expenses so you don’t have to pay for everything out of pocket. If you’re falsely accused, your coverage can help pay for defense costs.

Professional liability business insurance (also known as errors and omissions, or E&O, insurance) helps pay for lawsuit costs and damages if your company is accused of work errors or incomplete projects that cause a client to lose money.

Professional liability can help pay for:

• Professional negligence (actual or alleged)
• Legal defense costs
• Legal judgments

Learn more about what professional liability insurance covers.

Professional liability insurance cost can be as little as $18.34 monthly or $220 annually, but the exact price depends on the type of work you do and many other factors.

With NEXT, you can rest assured you’re getting customized insurance at an affordable price — all from an insurance company that’s 100% dedicated to you and your small business.  

With Next Insurance, you can purchase professional liability coverage online and get your certificate of insurance in 10 minutes, or less. 

Start an instant quote to see options for your business. Here’s how the process works:

We’ll ask you some basic questions about your business and operations, including: 

• Your industry
• Where you do business
• How many years you have owned the business
• Number of employees
• Expected annual revenue
• Recent insurance and claims history

After you share your information, you’ll have instant access to a customized insurance quote for professional liability and other recommended coverage. 

If you like what you see, you can adjust the package limits and make your purchase. Your insurance will begin immediately after payment, and you’ll have access to your certificate of insurance.

Start a free instant quote today.

Learn about professional liability insurance with more frequently asked questions about our coverage.

If you have more questions, our licensed, U.S.-based insurance advisors are ready to help.

When you’re ready to explore coverage options for your business, you can get an instant quote online and purchase insurance within a few minutes.

Although they go by different names, professional liability and errors and omissions (E&O) insurance provide the same coverage. They both help protect you when you’re accused of doing an incorrect or bad job.

In general, the term professional liability is used when describing insurance covering professional mistakes by accountants, consultants, engineers and architects.

E&O insurance is used when describing this coverage for professions such as real estate and insurance agents.

Here are some instances in which you might need professional liability insurance for your business:

• You accidentally specify the wrong material for a project. Your client sues you for the cost of fixing the problem and other financial damages.

• You are the subject of a complaint filed with a professional association and you need to hire an attorney to defend yourself from potential termination of your membership.

• Your client discovers that you made critical measurement mistakes in your plans, causing project costs and timelines to double. They sue you for financial losses.

Your professional liability policy covers your employees but only for the services they deliver for your business.

For example, if you own an architecture firm and one of your employees makes a measurement mistake in a client’s blueprints, causing project costs and timelines to double, your professional liability insurance would help cover your legal fees if the client sues.

Your contractors may be covered but it depends on the details of your specific policy. Check the “Who is an insured” section of the “Definitions” part of your policy to make sure.

Professional liability insurance is typically not required by law but there are some variations depending on what state you live in and what industry you’re in.

If you work on high-cost projects, your clients may require you to carry insurance so you have financial protection in case of a lawsuit.

If you’re unsure if it’s a legal requirement in your state, you can call one of our U.S.-based, licensed insurance professionals at 855-222-5919 or email us at support@nextinsurance.com to help determine the type and amount of coverage you need.

Yes, we offer up to a 10% discount when you add a professional liability policy to your general liability insurance policy or any other existing policy.

You can add professional liability insurance directly through your online customer account. Or you can call us at 855-222-5919 or email us at support@nextinsurance.com.

Professional liability insurance is designed to provide coverage for your mistakes, even if you are at fault. Unintentional negligence, or honest mistakes on your part, is why this type of coverage exists.

Note: You will not be covered for intentional or criminal acts.

Depending on your industry, we may provide prior acts coverage for businesses that have maintained continuous professional liability coverage at similar or higher limits since the requested retroactive date.

This means that if you first report a claim related to negligent acts in the past, you can still receive coverage from NEXT.

All NEXT policies include the ability to automatically add an additional insured.

If you have a contract in place with another person or company requiring you to list them as an additional insured on your insurance policy, they are automatically covered under your NEXT policy.

Depending on your industry, you can also add a specific person or company to your certificate of insurance by clicking “Share proof of insurance” from your online customer account.

You’ll be asked if you need general proof of insurance or one with a venue or client as additional insured. As soon as you input the details of the additional insured, you can add their email address and we’ll send them over the certificate for you.

Any person or company that you add to your policy is referred to as an additional insured. They are named on your certificate, and only have a certificate if you send them either a physical or electronic copy of the certificate.

No, we won’t alter your premium during the term of an active policy or cancel your coverage due to a claim. We understand that filing a claim is stressful enough without having to worry about it affecting your premium.

At the end of your policy period, however, we will review the details of your business and claims activity. If either has changed since you first applied, we’ll adjust the premium up or down.

If you are a NEXT customer, you can file a claim with your account online.

After we receive your claim, we will call you to get additional details. You are also welcome to call us to report a claim: 855-222-5919.

If you are not a NEXT customer, you can report a claim in our help center or call us.

It is important to file professional liability claims as soon as possible.