Professional Liability Insurance in Florida

Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions or E&O, protects a business when a client says your work, advice or service caused them a financial loss. It responds to claims about a mistake, a missed deadline, bad advice or a service that was never delivered, and it helps pay for your legal defense. Covered by Guzman helps Florida business owners find out whether they need it, gather what an insurance company asks for and request a quote.

Call or text 813-302-7151, 7 days a week from 8am to 9pm, or send a request anytime. We review what you send and follow up, typically within one business day. The insurance company decides eligibility and price after underwriting.

What professional liability insurance covers

This policy is built for claims about the quality of your professional work, not for someone getting hurt or something getting broken. The usual claim comes from a client who says you made a mistake, gave advice that cost them money, missed a deadline, left something out or never finished what you were hired to do, and who wants you to pay for the loss.

Depending on the policy, coverage can include:

• Defense costs, such as attorney fees and court costs, to respond to the claim or lawsuit
• Settlements or judgments you owe, up to the policy limit
• Claims over an error, an omission or negligent advice in the professional services listed on your policy

Defense is a large part of the value. A claim can be weak or even wrong and still cost real money to answer. Many policies pay to defend claims that turn out to be unfounded, while others count defense costs against your limit, so ask how yours works.

What it usually does not cover

Every policy has its own wording and exclusions, so read yours. These are the items most often left out:

• Bodily injury and property damage. If a client trips in your office or you damage their equipment, that is a general liability claim.
• Intentional acts, fraud and criminal acts.
• Contractual promises. If a contract has you agree to a specific result, a warranty or a liability bigger than the law would put on you, the policy usually does not pay for that extra promise.
• Injuries to your own employees, which belong under workers’ compensation.
• Your own property and vehicles. Data breaches and cyber events usually need a separate policy too.

How it differs from general liability

General liability insurance pays when your business causes bodily injury or property damage to someone else, such as a customer who slips or a wall your crew damages. Professional liability pays when your service or advice causes a financial loss and nobody is hurt and nothing is damaged. A late report, a wrong measurement on a plan or a missed filing are typical examples.

Many businesses need both. A consulting firm may have visitors in the office and also advise clients on decisions worth thousands of dollars. Our general liability insurance page covers the other half. General liability policies usually exclude professional mistakes, so a claim about your advice or design can be turned away there. That gap is the reason E&O exists.

Claims-made coverage, retroactive date and tail coverage

Most professional liability policies are written on a claims-made basis. The policy responds to a claim that is first made against you and reported to the insurance company while the policy is in force. It does not go by the date the work was done. Two terms decide how much of your past work is protected.

• Retroactive date. This is the earliest date your work can have been done for a claim to be covered. Say the retroactive date is January 1, 2024 and a client sues in 2027 over work you finished in 2022. The work falls before the date, so the policy usually does not respond. A new business often starts with a retroactive date of its first day. When you renew or change insurance companies, ask to keep the same retroactive date so your past work stays covered.
• Tail coverage. Also called an extended reporting period. When a claims-made policy ends, a claim reported afterward is usually not covered, even for work you did while the policy was active. Tail coverage gives you more time to report those claims. People look at it when they close or sell a business, retire, or switch to a policy with a later retroactive date. The policy sets how long you have to ask for it, so ask before you cancel.

Keep the coverage continuous, keep the same retroactive date when you renew or switch, and report a possible claim as soon as you hear about it, since reporting late can cost you coverage.