Heffernan vs Simply Business: Professional Liability / E&O Insurance

Simply Business offers an online flow to compare quotes, with binding requiring panel-member approval. Heffernan Insurance Brokers has you contact a small-business division that will research a custom package for industries not listed.

Kearny Risk organizes these comparisons for firms whose advice, content or technology creates professional exposures.Research updated 2026-09-30

Heffernan arranges E&O for a broad small-business audience, while Simply Business lists specific professions and an online quote path.

Sources reviewed

  1. 01
    Small Business Insurance

    Heffernan Insurance Brokers · The types of coverage we can provide include... Errors and omissions protects against claims for problems with your product or service that result in a financial loss; industries served list; Specialty Programs; contact for custom-designed packages · accessed 2026-09-23

  2. 02
    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

  3. 03
    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

  4. 04
    Professional Liability Insurance Coverage

    Simply Business · Coverage lines 45–100; buyer examples lines 101–158; online quote steps lines 237–260. · accessed 2026-09-29

  5. 05
    Terms of Service

    Simply Business · Dated June 30, 2026; §1 lines 22–28; §8 lines 87–113; §10 lines 143–149; §19 line 211. · accessed 2026-09-29

  6. 06
    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

  7. 07
    Get business insurance

    U.S. Small Business Administration · Six common types of business insurance table · accessed 2026-09-16

What Are the Key Differences Between Heffernan Insurance Brokers and Simply Business Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance?

Heffernan builds placements; Simply Business starts with online quotes

Heffernan’s small-business division shops E&O with insurers and asks buyers to contact its team for a quote and custom package. Simply Business describes an online flow to enter business details, compare offers and select a policy, though its terms say a quote is not guaranteed and a panel member must approve binding. If you want a broker to shape a broader package, start with Heffernan; if you want to compare available offers online, check what Simply Business returns for your work. [1] [5]

Buyer examples shape the first eligibility check

Heffernan names industries from construction and health care to technology and says it can custom-design packages for unlisted industries. Simply Business gives E&O examples including consultants, IT professionals, real-estate agents and bookkeepers, while warning that examples do not guarantee eligibility. Describe your exact services and client contracts to both before relying on a broad industry match. [1] [4]

Compare the stated protection with the policy wording

Heffernan frames E&O around a client’s financial loss after a problem with your product or service. Simply Business names attorney fees, court costs, settlements and judgments as costs that may be covered, subject to policy wording. Ask which of those costs appear in the specific insurer’s form and how a service error must cause loss to trigger coverage. [1] [4]

What Should You Confirm in Heffernan Insurance Brokers and Simply Business Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance Quotes?

  • Ask Heffernan which insurers and policy forms it proposes, and ask Simply Business which panel member must approve the online quote before binding. [1] [5]
  • For either quote, request the covered professional services, defense-cost treatment, exclusions, limits and deductible in the actual form; neither reviewed overview establishes those terms. [1] [4]

Areas of coverage

Heffernan Insurance Brokers

  • role: Heffernan lists errors and omissions among the coverages its small-business division places for clients, shopping the line with insurers rather than underwriting it. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; no dedicated professional-E&O product page was found.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: Heffernan describes errors and omissions coverage as protecting against claims for problems with a company's product or service that result in a financial loss to a client. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; the page does not list specific exclusions, claims-made versus occurrence form, or endorsements.company-reportedSource ↗
  • eligibility: Heffernan's small-business division says it serves sole proprietors through fast-growing companies across industries including construction, food, health care, hospitality, nonprofits, real estate, technology, transportation, and vintners and growers, and will custom-design a package for industries not listed. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; not exclusively E&O-specific, but describes the buyer base for the page listing this coverage.company-reportedSource ↗
  • limits: The reviewed page does not publish limits, retentions, or premium ranges for errors and omissions coverage. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23.not-disclosedSource ↗
  • application: Heffernan directs small-business buyers to contact the firm's small-business division to request a quote and says it will research and build a custom package for industries not already listed. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23.company-reportedSource ↗

Simply Business

  • coverage: The page describes protection for claims tied to professional work and lists attorney fees, court costs, settlements and judgments as costs that may be covered; policy wording controls. Company-published professional-errors-omissions information for U.S. small businesses; availability and actual policy terms depend on the insurer, state and buyer.company-reportedSource ↗
  • eligibility: Simply Business lists consultants, IT professionals, real-estate agents and bookkeepers among the business examples for which it can help find E&O coverage. The examples do not guarantee eligibility. Company-published professional-errors-omissions information for U.S. small businesses; availability and actual policy terms depend on the insurer, state and buyer.company-reportedSource ↗
  • application: The company describes an online flow to answer business questions, compare quotes and select a policy. Its Terms say an online quote is not guaranteed and binding requires panel-member approval. Company-published professional-errors-omissions information for U.S. small businesses; availability and actual policy terms depend on the insurer, state and buyer.company-reportedSource ↗Source ↗

Ask Kearny Risk to help relate this comparison to your services and contracts.

Contact Kearny Risk