Florida Professional Liability (E&O) — Errors and Omissions for Service Businesses
Professional liability — also called Errors and Omissions (E&O) — covers the financial damages your clients suffer because of mistakes, missed deadlines, bad advice, or alleged negligence in your professional work. General liability does not cover this. If you give advice, write code, design something, manage someone’s money, sell real estate, or hold yourself out as an expert in any field, you need E&O — and many Florida clients now require it before signing a contract.
- Consultants, designers, agencies, brokers, lawyers, accountants
- Defense costs covered (often outside the limit)
- Tech E&O with cyber bundled
- Real estate, insurance, financial services E&O
E&O Quote in 60 Seconds
40+
Professional classes
Defense
Outside limit (most)
$1M–$10M
Limits available
Same day
COIs to clients
What E&O actually covers — and what it does not
E&O covers economic loss to your client because of a real or alleged professional error. GL covers physical injury and physical property damage. The two are completely different policies and you generally need both. If a developer’s code crashes a client’s e-commerce site for 48 hours, E&O pays the lost revenue claim. If the same developer trips a customer in the office, GL pays for the injury.
Professional Negligence
You missed a deadline, gave incomplete advice, made a calculation error, or delivered work that did not meet contractual specifications — and the client claims financial damages. E&O pays the damages and the defense.
Breach of Duty
You failed to provide the standard of care your profession requires. Common in licensed professions (lawyers, accountants, doctors, real estate brokers, insurance agents) where a regulator-defined duty exists.
Misrepresentation
You stated something to a client (intentionally or not) that turned out to be inaccurate, and they relied on it to their financial detriment. Especially common for brokers, agents, and consultants.
Coverage details that matter
Defense Costs
Lawyer fees, expert witnesses, court costs. Most E&O policies pay defense outside the policy limit — meaning a $1M policy can spend $300K on attorneys and still have the full $1M to pay a settlement.
Subpoena Response
When you receive a subpoena related to your professional services, even if you are not a defendant, E&O reimburses attorney costs to respond properly.
Regulatory & Disciplinary Defense
Some E&O policies include defense costs when a licensing board, regulatory agency, or industry body investigates your work — even without a customer lawsuit.
Industries we write E&O for every week in Florida
Consultants, marketing agencies, web developers, IT services, software-as-a-service companies, real estate brokers, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, accountants, bookkeepers, architects, engineers, interior designers, financial advisors, life coaches, business coaches, fitness instructors with technique liability, and many others. If your work product can financially harm a client when it goes wrong, E&O is the policy.
- Consultants, agencies, designers, developers
- Real estate, insurance, mortgage, financial services
- Accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, healthcare professionals
- Coaches, trainers, tutors, instructors
Claims-made vs occurrence — why it matters
Almost all E&O policies are written on a “claims-made” basis, meaning the policy must be in force when the claim is filed against you — not when the work was done. This creates a critical issue when you change carriers or stop the business: tail coverage (extended reporting period) is required to cover claims that arise after the policy ends but relate to work done before. We always explain retroactive dates and tail options up front so you never have an uncovered gap.
- Claims-made: policy must be in force when claim is reported
- Retroactive date: how far back the policy covers prior work
- Tail coverage: extends reporting period after policy ends
- Continuity matters — never let coverage lapse mid-engagement
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need E&O if I have general liability?
Almost certainly yes. GL covers physical injury and physical property damage to third parties. E&O covers economic damages from your professional advice, work product, or service. They are different policies designed for different exposures. Most service-based Florida businesses need both.
How much does E&O cost in Florida?
Most Florida consultants and small agencies pay $700–$2,500 per year for $1M of E&O. Higher-risk classes (real estate, financial services, IT consulting, architects) pay more. Tech E&O often runs $1,500–$5,000 because of the bundled cyber component. Revenue, prior claims, and class are the primary drivers.
What is a retroactive date?
The retroactive date is the earliest date the policy will cover work performed. If you do consulting work in January 2024 and a claim arises in October 2025, the policy must have a retroactive date of January 2024 or earlier for the claim to be covered. When switching carriers, we keep the retroactive date so prior work is not orphaned.
What is tail coverage?
An extended reporting period (tail) lets you report claims after the policy ends that arose from work done during the policy period. Critical when selling a business, retiring, or switching from claims-made to occurrence. We add tail coverage as needed at policy termination.
Does E&O cover me if a client just refuses to pay?
No — non-payment by a client is a contract dispute, not professional negligence. E&O is for claims that your professional service caused the client financial harm. We sometimes recommend a separate fee dispute / contract dispute coverage for clients with large invoices.
I am a real estate agent. What kind of E&O do I need?
Florida real estate brokers and agents need real-estate-specific E&O with coverage for failure to disclose, misrepresentation, transaction errors, and open-house liability. Many Florida brokerages now require E&O for every licensed agent. We write Florida real estate E&O through several specialty carriers.
Do tech consultants need cyber and E&O?
Yes — and tech E&O typically bundles them. Modern technology E&O includes professional services coverage (errors in code, deliverables, advice) plus cyber liability (data breach, ransomware, customer notification). The combined policy is cheaper than buying the two separately and more cleanly worded.
Florida E&O / Professional Liability for service businesses
Tell us your profession, services, and revenue. We will shop the top E&O carriers and email you real quotes plus retroactive-date analysis — usually within one business day.