Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance for Professionals
Insurance coverage for the costs of legal claims or damage caused by errors or unintentional omissions from your work. Get coverage for as low as $25.83/month*.
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What Is Errors and Omissions Insurance?
Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, also known as professional liability, is coverage for honest mistakes. A typo in a contract. A missed deadline. An unhappy client, even when the work was solid. E&O insurance can help cover the legal costs and damages when moments like these turn into claims, so a single bad outcome doesn’t put your whole business at risk.
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What Does an E&O Policy Cover?
E&O insurance covers a variety of claims that typically involve human error. That can mean errors in the work itself, claims tied to an employee’s actions, or legal disputes that arise even when you think you’ve done nothing wrong.
Negligence or alleged negligence
Errors and omissions insurance can help cover the legal costs related to claims of mistakes, poor service, or a lack of proper care.
Poor performance or results
If your business doesn’t deliver work as promised, or even if the results aren’t what your client thought or hoped they would be, a customer could sue you to recover any losses they experienced as a result. Errors and omissions insurance can help cover qualifying damages and associated legal costs.
Employees representing your business
Your E&O insurance policy can also help cover claims related to mistakes or negligence by your employees. If you have independent contractors providing services to your clients on your behalf, your E&O policy will typically cover your damages and legal fees that result from an independent contractor’s mistakes, but it will likely not cover the independent contractor’s own legal fees and costs.
Legal Defense Costs
Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, a client could still sue you. Your business E&O insurance could help cover the legal costs to defend you and your business.
What Does an E&O Policy Not Cover?
No insurance policy covers every situation, and E&O is no exception. A standard policy generally generally won’t help with:
- Employee injuries
- Intentional mistakes and omissions
- Property damage
- Medical expenses
- Bodily injury
Who Needs Errors and Omissions Insurance?
We recommend errors and omissions insurance for nearly any small business that provides professional services or advice. Here are some situations where an E&O policy can help different types of businesses.
Here are a few common examples:
Consultants
You recommend a strategy that doesn’t deliver results — the client claims financial loss. Even if your advice was reasonable, disputes can happen.
Tax Preparers
A miscategorized expense leads to an IRS penalty for your client. They say the error cost them thousands and they want you to make it right.
Insurance Agents
A small business owner files a claim, only to learn a key risk wasn’t covered. They sue you, alleging you recommended the wrong policy.
Real estate agents
An overlooked detail in your client’s home listing leads to a significantly lower sale price than your client expected or anticipated.
We can help find an E&O policy for many different types of businesses, including these:
How Much Does E&O Insurance Cost?
E&O insurance can start around $26 per month*, but your actual cost depends on the type of work you do, where you’re located, whether you have employees, the size of your payroll, the coverage you choose, and other factors.
A few factors that influence your premium:
- Claims history
- Your profession and risk level
- Coverage limits and excess
- Business size and revenue
What Some Customers are Paying for E&O Insurance2
Maryland
Tax preparer
- Sole proprietorship
- Limit: $500,000
- Deductible: $1,000
- Quoted May 2026
$33
/month
Virginia
Real estate agent
- Sole proprietorship
- Limit: $1M
- Deductible: $1,000
- Quoted May 2026
$96
/month
Georgia
Bookkeeper
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Limit: $250,000
- Deductible: $500
- Quoted May 2026
$52
/month
2These examples are real insurance quotes generated on the dates above. They are for illustration purposes only. Your coverage options and pricing may differ based on the information you provide us about your particular business, the state you operate in, the number of employees, and other factors.
What Other Types of Insurance Do I Need?
Business insurance usually refers to one or more coverages suited to your type of small business. Here are the foundational insurance policies we most often recommend, and how they can help protect your small business:
General LiabilityFrom $20.75/month*
Workers’ CompFrom $38.91/month*
Business Owner’s Policy From $33.75/month*
Inland MarineFrom $20.83/month*
Business Personal PropertyFrom $25.83/month*
How to Get E&O Insurance Online
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Errors and Omissions Insurance — a one-minute explanation
Find out what E&O covers, why you might need it, and how we can help—all in just 60 seconds.
If you’re a professional you’re very good at what you do but mistes can happen. Sorry, look, mistakes can happen. That’s one of the reasons behind having professional liability insurance. Professional liability can cover you if a client sues your business for a mistake or negligence, can help take care of any actual damages as well as legal costs. Without PL Insurance those costs could be coming out of your pocket, even if you’re found to be in the right. Just paying to defend yourself in court can be expensive and getting covered is a breeze with us. With just a few minutes online or on the phone our lightning fast technology can help find you a policy from among the top insurers out there.
Answers to More Questions About Errors & Omissions Insurance
Errors and omissions insurance typically covers legal defense costs, ordered damages, and settlement payouts if a client sues your business for professional mistakes.
Most policies provide protection for:
– Work mistakes and oversights
– Undelivered or unfinished work
– Legal defense costs
– Missed deadlines
– Negligence
– Certain breaches of contract
The term errors and omissions insurance (E&O) is often used interchangeably with professional liability insurance, and for the most part, they’re identical. Depending on your profession or line of work, one term may be used more commonly than another, but both can protect businesses against claims of negligence or mistakes.
COIs for most insurance policies are available as soon as you purchase your policy. Once available, Simply Business provides instant digital certificate of insurance access through your online account any time of day. So if a client needs proof of E&O coverage before signing a contract, you can pull your COI and send it over in minutes.
General liability insurance typically covers physical risks, such as third-party bodily injury or property damage. E&O insurance covers professional risks—specifically the financial losses a client might suffer due to a mistake, omission, or failure to deliver your professional services.
It may help cover claims related to a breach of contract, provided the breach results directly from professional mistakes, oversight, or negligence.
E&O is typically a “claims-made” policy, meaning the policy must be active both when the alleged mistake happens and when the claim is filed. An “occurrence” policy covers any incident that occurred during your policy period, even if the claim is reported after the policy has ended. To ensure your past work remains protected, look for your policy’s retroactive date, which marks the earliest point in time an incident can occur and still be eligible for coverage.
The cost for your insurance coverage is usually determined by factors such as:
– The type of work you do
– Where your business is located
– Your annual revenue
– The types of policies and limits you choose
Other factors can include your claims history and how long you’ve been in business.
If you’re thinking of buying errors and omissions insurance, we recommend having the following information on hand when using our errors and omissions insurance calculator:
– The state where you do business
– Your type of business or trade
– Your annual revenue estimates
This information can make it easier to get a quote from one of our insurers.
State Business Insurance Guides
Find out what’s required in the state or states where you operate:
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How to Get a Errors & Omissions Insurance Quote
You can quotes for errors & omissions coverage in just 10 minutes with our online quote tool.
*The displayed price for each product is a monthly estimate calculated from the 10th percentile of relevant policies sold by Simply Business (e.g., General Liability data is used for General Liability estimates). This estimate uses data from relevant policy sales between July–December 2025. Final price and payment terms, which may include an initial down payment, are subject to change based on your state, selected insurance provider, and specific business details.