Professional liability — also called errors and omissions (E&O) — covers you when a client claims your work, advice, or service was negligent, mistaken, or fell short and cost them money. It pays to defend the claim and any settlement up to your limit. For a Southeast small business or solo professional, E&O commonly runs roughly $600 to $3,000 a year for a $1 million limit. The reason it matters: your general liability policy covers a client who gets hurt — it does nothing for a client who loses money because you got the work wrong. Those are two different risks, and one of them is usually uninsured.
Professional liability responds to claims that your professional performance caused a financial loss. The core covered allegations are:
As with most liability lines, the policy pays defense costs — often the largest expense — on top of any settlement or judgment, up to your limit. A professional-negligence claim can drag on through expert testimony and discovery even when you did nothing wrong, and that defense bill starts the moment the client's attorney sends a demand.
E&O pricing turns on your profession, your revenue, the size of the accounts you handle, and your claims history. Rough 2026 ranges for a Southeast small business at a $1 million limit:
| Professional profile | E&O premium (per year, $1M limit) |
|---|---|
| Lower-risk: consultants, coaches, small service firms | ~$600 – $1,200 |
| Moderate: bookkeepers, marketing agencies, property managers | ~$1,000 – $2,000 |
| Higher-stakes: IT/software, real estate, financial services | ~$1,800 – $3,500+ |
| Design professionals: architects, engineers, design-build | Priced on project size — often several thousand+ |
Expect a per-claim deductible of $1,000 to $10,000. Higher-stakes professions cost more for one reason: a single error can produce a very large client loss. A misfiled tax position, a coding error that takes down a client's system, a real-estate disclosure miss — each can cost the client far more than a slip-and-fall ever would. The largest long-term factor, again, is a clean claims history.
If you are paid for your expertise, advice, or a professional service, you have E&O exposure. That covers a wide field:
Increasingly, you don't get to decide whether you need it — your clients do. A signed services agreement, a vendor-onboarding checklist, or a master services agreement will often specify a minimum E&O limit ($1 million or $2 million is common) before you can start work. Not carrying it can cost you the contract before it ever costs you a claim.
This is the distinction that leaves the most owners exposed. They carry general liability, assume they're covered, and discover the gap only when a client sues over the work.
A client who falls in your lobby is a GL claim. A client who loses money because your report was wrong is an E&O claim — and a GL policy will flatly deny it. Most professional firms need both, because the two policies cover risks that don't overlap.
Like most professional lines, E&O is written on a claims-made basis. The policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is filed, not when you did the work — provided the work happened after the policy's retroactive date and coverage has been continuous. Two practical consequences:
Most small professional firms start at a $1 million per-claim limit, often with a $1 million to $2 million aggregate. But the right number is a function of the size of the accounts you handle and what your contracts require. If a single engagement is worth several hundred thousand dollars, a $1 million limit can be thin; large clients and vendor agreements frequently demand $1 million or $2 million minimums. Match your limit to the largest plausible client loss and the highest requirement your contracts impose.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Georgia and the wider Southeast. E&O is the coverage most owners assume their general liability already handles — and it doesn't. We write every line of commercial coverage — general liability, workers' comp, commercial auto, property, cyber, umbrella, and the professional lines like E&O — and we shop each account across multiple carriers. Because we look at your whole program together, we can tell you whether you have a real gap between your GL and your professional exposure, what limit your contracts actually require, and whether design-build or technology work calls for a specialized professional policy. One agency, one relationship, the work-you-were-hired-for risk covered alongside everything else.
Bettr Coverage reviews your general liability, professional liability, workers' comp, property, cyber, and umbrella across multiple carriers — one agency, one relationship, so the “my client sued over the work” claim isn't the gap nobody flagged.
Get a free coverage reviewCoverage for claims that your professional work, advice, or service was negligent, mistaken, or incomplete and caused a client a financial loss — including defense costs, which are often the biggest expense.
Roughly $600–$3,000 a year for a $1M limit for a Southeast small business; higher-stakes and design professions pay more. Profession, revenue, account size, and claims history drive the price.
Anyone paid for expertise or a service: consultants, IT firms, real estate, accountants, financial advisors, architects, agencies. Clients and contracts increasingly require a minimum limit before you can start work.
GL covers bodily injury and property damage; E&O covers financial harm from your professional work. A client who trips is GL; a client who loses money over your work is E&O. Most firms need both.
Almost always. The policy in force when the claim is filed responds — keep continuous coverage to protect your retroactive date, and consider tail coverage if you switch or cancel.
Injury and property damage are GL/comp; but design, engineering, or spec work a contractor performs is an E&O exposure GL excludes — design-build contractors often need contractors' professional liability.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance, and not legal advice. Cost ranges are illustrative, not filed rates, and vary by profession, revenue, account size, claims history, deductible, limit, state, carrier, and underwriting. Coverage terms, exclusions, retentions, retroactive dates, and availability differ by policy and carrier — confirm specifics with a licensed agent. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.