Who needs professional liability insurance?
Argo Pro’s Tom Bongi explains the finer details of errors & omissions insurance and the liabilities it addresses.
Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omissions (E&O) coverage and protects individuals who render opinions and recommendations and otherwise advise clients in the course of their jobs. It can provide coverage for legal fees and judgments or settlements, as well as cover claims arising from past projects and issues like allegations of slander or libel.
Tom Bongi, senior vice president of underwriting, and head of architects & engineers and miscellaneous professional liability for Argo Pro, provides an in-depth look at this type of coverage and particularly the importance of its role as more individuals choose to launch their own consulting businesses. Argo Pro is a member of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd., an underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance.
For individuals who provide advice or recommendations as opposed to a tangible product, professional liability insurance affords them protection for the services they deliver. Bongi says that anyone who renders an opinion, such as lawyers, accountants, architects, doctors and engineers, should have professional liability insurance.
Bongi briefly discussed the collapse of the Surfside condominiums in Miami, Fla., earlier this year and indicated that professional liability would definitely play a role in many of the lawsuits filed. He shared that “anyone can be sued” and indicated it was likely that many professionals involved with the building, such as architects, engineers, inspectors and others, were likely to be sued.
With so many individuals choosing to go out on their own as consultants amid the layoffs and other challenges associated with the pandemic, Bongi recommends that “anyone providing advice that could result in a loss” should ensure they have professional liability insurance to protect themselves and their clients.
To hear more about how E&O insurance applies to claims and more, listen to the podcast above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play or Libsyn.
Related: