Professional liability insurance is also called errors and omissions insurance. Many people have the misconception that only doctors and lawyers need this type of insurance, but the fact of the matter is, if you have any special training and you see clients, you need professional liability insurance.
- Top 6 Providers of Professional Liability Insurance in Florida
- What is Professional Liability Insurance?
- Who Needs Professional Liability Insurance in Florida?
- How Much does Professional Liability Insurance Cost in Florida?
- What does Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
- What doesn’t Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
- How Much Professional Liability Insurance Do You Need?
Top 6 Providers of Professional Liability Insurance in Florida
Here are the top six companies we recommend for professional liability insurance in Florida:
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing online quotes
- Hiscox – Best Overall
- The Hartford – Best for customer service
- Embroker – Best for legal malpractice
- Next Insurance – Best for Self-employed
- Vouch – Best for startups
CoverWallet: Best for comparing online quotes
CoverWallet is a digital broker, specializing in business insurance. They work with several leading business insurance companies and are able to provide quotes of these companies.
Just after a few minutes of filling out the quote form on CoverWallet website, you will receive several quotes to compare and select the best one for your situation.
If you buy a professional liability insurance policy through CoverWallet, you will be able to use their digital dashboard to manage all of your business insurance policies in one place, conveniently from getting insurance certificate to renewing or filing a claim.
Hiscox – Best Overall
Hiscox offers fast quoting, instant coverage and fast claims. They provide insurance for over 180 professions, so your profession is definitely represented. They also have excellent reviews. You can tailor their policies to your business as well. For the quote below, we said we were an accountant with $150,000 in revenue.
The Hartford – Best for customer service
The Hartford was one of the first insurance companies to target small businesses, so if that’s you, The Hartford could be a great choice. The have coverage limits up to $5 million, and they have a wide variety of coverage options. They do have online quoting, but generally when you fill out the form, they email your quote later. Still, they have excellent customer reviews—over 12,000 of them–which you can read online.
Embroker – Best for legal malpractice
Embroker has the first professional legal liability policy you can get entirely online, in about ten minutes. If you have a startup business, Embroker has a program that bundles essential business policies together at a discount—up to 20%. You can renew online in less than ten minutes, and you can track claims online as well.
Next Insurance – Best for Self-employed
Next Insurance is dedicated to small businesses. They have instant quoting, and you can get a 10% discount if you buy more than one policy. You can get a certificate of insurance as soon as you pay for your policy. You can get an online quote if you give them your social security number or your federal employee identification number, or you can talk to an agent if you prefer.
Vouch – Best for startups
Anyone who runs a startup knows that finding someone willing to insure you can take a while. Vouch doesn’t do it that way. Everything is entirely online—no paperwork at all, and coverage begins the next day. They have other insurance policies, too, so you can add more coverage as you grow. If you have no idea what type of insurance you need, or would like some guidance, you can zoom, chat, email or call an insurance advisor.
What is Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional liability insurance is designed to protect professionals—that is, people with specialized training who may or may not have a license—against lawsuits filed as a result of mistakes they made. Mistakes can happen to anyone. Professional liability insurance protects you from lawsuits and settlement costs if someone sues.
In Florida, there are some great tax advantages to having a business here, and entrepreneurs report that getting access to capital is…not easy, but doable. On the other hand, the American Tort Reform Foundation named Florida as being the nation’s worst “judicial hellhole” because of how sue-happy residents can be here. If you live in Florida and provide any kind of professional service, you need professional liability insurance.
Who Needs Professional Liability Insurance in Florida?
Also called malpractice insurance and errors and omissions insurance (E&O) in different professions, anyone who has specialized training that clients pay you for, such as:
- Lawyers – Top 5 Providers of Legal Malpractice Insurance & How Much It Costs
- Accountants – Professional Liability Insurance (E&O) for Consultants, Investment Advisors, and Other Financial Professionals
- Doctors – The 5 Best Providers of Medical Malpractice Insurance
- Consultants – Professional Liability Insurance (E&O) for Consultants, Investment Advisors, and Other Financial Professionals
- Real estate agents – Top 5 Providers of Real Estate E&O Insurance & Costs
- Insurance agents – E&O Insurance for Insurance Agents: Cost and Top 5 Providers
- Engineers – Top 5 Providers of Professional Liability Insurance for Architects and Engineers
- Marketing and advertising services
- Psychologists – Top 4 Providers of Malpractice Insurance for Psychologists and Counselors
- Nurses – The Best 4 Providers of Nursing Malpractice Insurance
- Dentists – Top 5 Providers of Dental Malpractice Insurance
- Physical Therapists – The 6 Best Malpractice Insurance Providers for Physical Therapists
- Chiropractors – 4 Best Choices for Cheap Chiropractic Malpractice Insurance
While Florida does not require lawyers to carry professional liability insurance (or legal malpractice insurance) they do have to report whether or not they have this insurance every year when they register.
Doctors are, on the other hand, required to carry malpractice insurance in Florida.
What does Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
Professional liability insurance usually covers things like:
- Mistakes or oversights
- Undelivered services
- Accusations of negligence
- Missed deadlines
- Breach of contract
Mistakes can happen to anyone. You don’t even need to have made any mistakes for someone to sue you. Obstetricians get sued all the time because not all babies come out perfect—most of which has absolutely nothing to do with the obstetrician. Florida is especially known for frivolous lawsuits, so yes, you can be sued even if you don’t make a mistake.
What doesn’t Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
Professional liability insurance doesn’t cover everything. It doesn’t cover:
- Customer’s injuries
- Employee injuries
- Discrimination lawsuits
- Malicious acts
- Illegal acts
It should also be noted that professional liability insurance only protects you against lawsuits filed against you. Any lawsuits you initiate, you’re on your own. If a client fails to pay you, you have every right to sue them for payment, but you won’t be covered by insurance.
How Much does Professional Liability Insurance Cost in Florida?
Obviously, it varies according to your coverage limits and what industry you work in. According to Insureon, the average cost of professional liability insurance for small business owners is about $59 a month. Malpractice insurance for doctors costs quite a bit more, with obstetricians paying the most—up to $150,000 a year.
Different companies have different prices as well. It is always a good idea to shop around with a few companies or work with a digital broker like CoverWallet to compare several quotes before selecting the best one for you.
How Much Professional Liability Insurance Do You Need?
According to Insureon, the average small business owner chooses a professional liability insurance policy with a $1 million occurrence limit and a $1 million dollar aggregate. The aggregate is the limit for the length of the contract, which usually renews every year.
That’s just the average, though. You might want to consult with a financial advisor to discuss your professional liability needs.
>>MORE: Top 6 Companies for General Liability Insurance in Florida
>>MORE: Top 6 Providers of Workers Compensation Insurance in Florida
