Professional Liability Insurance

Those employed in professional roles are generally expected to apply their expertise correctly, and they may be held financially responsible should they fail to do so. Professional liability insurance policies are specialized commercial liability policies. As a form of liability protection, these policies typically cover legal costs, settlements and some other expenses that arise from covered lawsuits and claims.

Most people who are employed in a professional capacity should consider purchasing a professional liability policy. In certain situations, people in professional capacities might even be legally required to be covered by a policy. Some examples of professionals who might want or need a policy include: Medical professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses, physician assistants etc.), legal professionals (e.g. lawyers, paralegals, etc.), builders (e.g. contractors, engineers, architects, etc.), advisors (e.g. investment advisors, financial planners, etc.), real estate professionals (e.g. agents, brokers, etc.), insurance professionals (e.g. agents, brokers, etc.), and tradespeople (e.g. plumbers, carpenters, landscapers, pool service providers, etc.).

Many employers who have professionals working for them provide some professional liability coverage for their employees. Even when employers do carry robust coverage, there are often still limits on what incidents that coverage applies to. Namely, work that’s not done for the employer frequently isn’t covered by an employer’s policy. Thus, professionals who take on side gigs or offer charities pro bono work might not have coverage for those efforts.

Since professional liability policies are used by many different professionals, there are several different kinds of these policies. A few of the more common ones are medical malpractice policies, legal malpractice policies, errors and omissions policies, which professionals who give advice normally use, and directors and officers policies, which executives and leaders normally use.

Commercial package policies usually combine several coverages together into a single package policy, and professional liability coverage is often one of the options that they make available. For professionals who need multiple insurance coverages, this option frequently makes sense. It also sometimes comes with substantial premium savings. Professionals who need only professional liability coverage normally stay with a stand-alone policy.