Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Markel: Professional Liability / E&O Insurance

What Are the Key Differences Between Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance and Markel Insurance Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance?

Class fit and stated size

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance names staffing, management consulting, marketing and real-estate firms for Miscellaneous Professional Liability and law-firm size bands for Lawyers Professional Liability. Markel describes its miscellaneous E&O product for small businesses in targeted industries up to $5 million revenue. These are different kinds of guidance: BHSI identifies professional categories, while Markel gives a revenue boundary for one product. Ask each underwriter whether your services and annual revenue fit the particular form being quoted. [3] [6]

Limits and form specificity

Markel states a maximum of $2 million for miscellaneous E&O, subject to the quote; BHSI’s reviewed professional claims do not state a limit for this line. The figures cannot establish equivalent available limits or price. BHSI’s design-industry form also combines professional liability with pollution, media, technology and cyber exposures, a scope that needs to be matched to Markel’s separate E&O product wording before comparing. [6] [1]

What Should You Confirm in Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance and Markel Insurance Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance Quotes?

Ask Markel whether your revenue qualifies and what limit below its stated $2 million maximum is available. [6]
Ask BHSI for the profession-specific form and its offered per-claim and aggregate limits. [3]
Compare whether technology, media, pollution or cyber exposures are included in the form you receive. [1] [6]

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance lists professional target classes; Markel describes ProBiz miscellaneous E&O for targeted small businesses up to $5 million in revenue and states a product-page maximum of $2 million.

Sources reviewed

01
Professional First Architects, Engineers and Consultants Professional Liability
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance · Product Highlights: professional/pollution liability; media, technology and cyber/network security/privacy liability; direct breach/extortion expenses; risk services; primary/excess and project-specific product availability; target professions, lines 6–29. Its combined-form technology feature is not itself a standalone Tech E&O statement. · accessed 2026-09-28
02
Professional First Professional Liability
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance · U.S. Professional Liability landing page links Professional Liability / Network Security & Privacy, stand-alone Network Security & Privacy, and Architects, Engineers and Consultants PL, lines 6–15; footer copyright © 2026. · accessed 2026-09-28
03
Professional First Professional Liability Overview
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance · PDF pp.1–2: claims group and reporting; primary blended E&O/Cyber and stand-alone Cyber forms; line capacity statement; named Lawyers PL, Technology E&O, Miscellaneous PL, Media Liability, Network Security & Privacy; named technology-services target types and selection categories; dated 2026-06-03-A. Group capacity not a line policy limit. Source version: 2026-06-03-A. · accessed 2026-09-28
04
Professional Liability – US Direct Errors and Omissions Insurance
Hiscox Inc. specimen · About this Policy / Coverage for Claims Made Against You; I.A Insuring Agreement; I.B Defense; I.C Settlement; II.A Notice of Claims; II.C Optional Extended Reporting Period; III.A, III.K, III.M, III.R, III.S Exclusions; IV.A–B Limits and Deductible; VI.O Professional Services; VI.U Wrongful Act · accessed 2026-09-16
05
Professional liability insurance
Insurance Information Institute · Opening paragraphs (professional services/advice and E&O name); Claims not covered by general liability; What types of businesses need professional liability insurance?; What’s covered… and what’s not (claims-made versus occurrence, defense and judgments, non-financial/intentional limits, BOP/in-home exclusion) · accessed 2026-09-16
06
ProBiz | Professional Liability Coverage
Markel · Miscellaneous E&O; types of covered professional-service errors; ProBiz target classes and process. · accessed 2026-09-30
07
FAQ: Professional liability insurance
Texas Department of Insurance · What’s professional liability coverage?; What types of damages…; What’s general liability insurance?; Do I need professional liability… if I have general liability…?; Is professional liability insurance required?; Can a client require…?; What’s the difference between occurrence policies and claims-made policies · accessed 2026-09-16
08
Get business insurance
U.S. Small Business Administration · Six common types of business insurance table · accessed 2026-09-16

Areas of coverage

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

coverage: BHSI’s U.S. Professional First overview identifies Lawyers Professional Liability and Miscellaneous Professional Liability alongside Technology E&O and Media Liability. Portfolio catalogue statement; the specific legal/professional class and form must be selected rather than treating the offerings as one policy.company-reportedSource ↗Source ↗
eligibility: The overview names staffing firms, management consultants, marketing firms and real-estate firms as targeted customers for Miscellaneous Professional Liability; it separately lists law-firm size bands for Lawyers Professional Liability. U.S. Professional First target statements; class-specific eligibility only.company-reportedSource ↗
coverage: For architects, engineers and consultants, BHSI describes a professional-liability form that also addresses pollution, media, technology and cyber/network-security exposures. This is a specialized design-industry combined form, not generic E&O wording or proof that all risks receive each component.company-reportedSource ↗
services: The Professional First overview describes its in-house claims handling group as experienced in complex, high-value claims and integrated with underwriting. Company-reported portfolio-level claim-service description, not independently measured claims performance.company-reportedSource ↗

Markel Insurance

role: Markel describes offering professional errors omissions for the audience stated on the cited product page. professional errors omissions marketed by markel; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.company-reportedSource ↗
eligibility: Small businesses in ProBiz's targeted industries; source describes businesses up to $5 million revenue for the miscellaneous E&O product. professional errors omissions marketed by markel; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.company-reportedSource ↗
coverage: The cited product page describes miscellaneous E&O for covered claims arising from professional services, with the page describing separate E&O and management-liability products. Marketing description only; actual coverage, exclusions, conditions, limits, and availability depend on the issued policy and jurisdiction. professional errors omissions marketed by markel; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.company-reportedSource ↗
application: The page invites prospective customers or brokers to contact Markel or the named underwriting team. The page does not establish a quote, bind, or coverage-effective timeline. professional errors omissions marketed by markel; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.company-reportedSource ↗
limits: For its miscellaneous E&O product, Markel states coverage up to $2 million; this is a product-page maximum, not a promise that every applicant or quote receives that amount. Markel ProBiz miscellaneous E&O marketing page; class, underwriting, policy terms, and actual quoted limit control.company-reportedSource ↗