About Errors & Omissions Coverage
Modern professional liability traces back to the late 1800s when Lloyd's underwriter Cuthbert Heath began crafting non-marine indemnity contracts so London accountants and surveyors could insure advice-based losses rather than physical damage.1 That innovation laid the groundwork for today's E&O policies that protect expertise instead of inventory.
U.S. demand accelerated after the 1968 Escott v. Barchris decision exposed boards and professional advisors to sweeping securities liability, pushing carriers in the 1970s to adopt dedicated claims-made E&O forms with retroactive dates and extended reporting options.2
In 2024, Gallagher observed 21 major U.S. insurers posting 3% to 15% rate hikes and stricter underwriting on tech, real estate, and design firms, even as retail appetite improved, while S&P Global reports E&S professional liability premiums jumping 15% year over year as complex New York-area risks migrate to surplus lines markets.3,4 That means Hudson Valley firms need tailored wording and diligent remarketing to stay in preferred tiers.
Coverage Highlights
Pulling from our internal glossary, these provisions keep financial setbacks from a single project from cascading through the rest of your business.
- Professional Services Liability: Pays defense and damages when advice, analysis, or deliverables cause a client's financial loss, such as a valuation error that triggers a failed acquisition.
- Duty-to-Defend Defense Outside Limits: Appoints counsel immediately and preserves the policy limit for indemnity while attorneys respond to subpoenas or demand letters.
- Claims-Made Retroactive Dates: Keeps prior work covered so a coding bug discovered years later still ties back to your original policy inception.
- Contingent Bodily Injury/Property Damage: Steps in when professional plans allegedly cause downstream physical losses, like a spec error leading to water intrusion at a renovation.
- Media & Network Liability: Wraps copyright, libel, and privacy allegations into the same tower so marketing teams and SaaS developers don't juggle separate policies mid-claim.
- Extended Reporting & Project Tails: Locks in protection for completed engagements during mergers, ownership changes, or practice wind-downs.
