Professional Liability Insurance in Texas & Kansas
Protecting Your Business When Mistakes Happen

Professional Liability Insurance (also called Errors & Omissions or E&O) protects professionals against alleged negligence, errors, omissions, or other covered wrongful acts arising out of professional services. It covers defense costs and damages if clients sue alleging your professional advice or services caused them financial harm. Essential for consultants, accountants, architects, engineers, IT professionals, real estate agents, insurance agents, lawyers, and anyone providing professional advice or services for a fee.

Coverage commonly includes defense costs and covered settlements or judgments arising from allegations of negligence, errors, omissions, or other covered wrongful acts in professional services, subject to exclusions and the policy form. It may protect against alleged mistakes in professional services, failure to meet industry standards, and advice that causes client financial loss. Coverage applies to both written and verbal professional services, subject to policy terms, conditions, and exclusions.

General liability insurance covers expenses related to claims that may arise during regular business operations. This includes costs associated with third-party bodily injury, damage to third-party property, reputational harm, and advertising injury.

General Liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage (slip-and-fall, product damage). Professional Liability covers financial losses from professional errors, advice, or services. General Liability won’t cover claims alleging negligent accounting advice, engineering design errors, or IT consulting mistakes. Most businesses need both – General Liability for physical risks and Professional Liability for advice/service risks. They’re complementary, not overlapping coverages.

No, Professional Liability policies exclude intentional acts, fraud, criminal acts, and dishonest conduct. Coverage applies only to negligent acts, errors, or omissions – meaning unintentional mistakes made while performing professional services. If you knowingly provide false information or intentionally harm a client, the policy won’t respond. Coverage is designed for honest mistakes and oversights, not deliberate misconduct.

Coverage needs depend on your profession, project size, client contracts, and potential claim exposure. Many professionals carry $1-2 million per claim/$2-3 million aggregate. High-risk professions (architects, engineers, accountants) often need $5+ million. Review client contracts – many require specific minimum limits. Consider your largest project value and typical client damages if your services fail. Higher limits cost more but provide crucial protection against catastrophic claims.

Most professional liability policies are written on a claims-made basis, meaning the claim must be made and reported during the policy period, and the wrongful act must occur on or after any applicable retroactive date. Occurrence policies cover errors that occurred during the policy period, even if the claim comes years later. Claims-made policies are more common and less expensive but require continuous coverage or “tail” coverage when you retire or switch carriers to protect against future claims for past work.

Premiums vary widely by profession, revenue, claims history, and coverage limits. Expect to pay $500-$3,000 annually for $1 million coverage in lower-risk professions like consultants or real estate agents. High-risk professionals (architects, engineers, IT consultants) may pay $3,000-$10,000+ annually. Factors affecting cost include years in practice, employee count, services offered, prior claims, retroactive date, and deductible selected. Specialized professionals often pay higher premiums.