Coverage

Read the coverage against the requirement

Use these notes to identify the wording that needs a closer look. Actual coverage depends on the issued policy, endorsements, facts and applicable conditions.

The advice and the deliverable

Professional liability

Professional liability, also called errors and omissions insurance, can respond to covered allegations of mistakes in the services described by the policy. The services definition deserves as much attention as the limit.

What to examine

  • Whether every service and discipline you provide appears in the insured services description.
  • The retroactive date, prior-knowledge provisions and timing requirements for making and reporting a claim.
  • Whether defense expenses reduce the available limit and how the retention applies.
  • Exclusions for assumed contractual liability, express warranties and performance guarantees.

Contract checkpoint

Compare the agreement’s standard of care and indemnity wording with the policy. An obligation to pay under a contract can be broader than insured liability for professional negligence.

The office and the site visit

General liability

General liability can address covered third-party bodily injury or property damage connected with business operations. Professional-service exclusions and other endorsements can change the response.

What to examine

  • Premises and operations described in the policy, including work away from the office.
  • Additional-insured wording requested by a landlord or project owner, including any written-contract condition.
  • Whether an endorsement changes professional-services or property-damage coverage.
  • Requested primary and noncontributory wording or waiver of subrogation, as supported by actual endorsements.

Evidence checkpoint

Read the endorsement that supports a certificate request. Naming a certificate holder alone does not make that party an additional insured.

The files and the client data

Cyber liability

Cyber insurance can combine incident-response expenses with liability coverage for privacy or network-security events. The sections, sublimits and conditions vary, so read the part that fits the incident.

What to examine

  • Incident notification instructions and any consent requirements for outside response providers.
  • Privacy liability, investigation expenses and the treatment of outsourced systems.
  • Business-interruption waiting periods and the events that trigger coverage.
  • Social-engineering or funds-transfer provisions and the controls required before making a payment.

Data checkpoint

Compare a client’s security addendum with the policy’s contractual-liability exclusions. A promise to reimburse every loss is not the same thing as covered incident expenses.

Keep the exceptions in the comparison

A premium comparison is incomplete without the services description, exclusions and reporting terms. Bring open questions into the renewal discussion before choosing a proposal.

Prepare a coverage conversation