Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance

Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance is professional indemnity insurance by another name. It’s the cover you need if clients pay you for your advice or services. Because clients can sue you if they think you made a mistake and it cost them money.  

Errors and omissions insurance (E&O) protects you from the cost of claims you made a mistake or did something wrong. Even if there are no grounds. for the claim, E&O insurance hires a solicitor to defend you, pays your legal fees and compensation, if it’s due.  

There is no difference. Errors and omissions (E&O) and professional indemnity insurance (PI) do the same thing. If a client sues you for negligence, they pay for your legal defence plus any compensation due too.

While you’ll hear both names, the term errors and omissions is used more in the USA. In the UK, we usually refer to it as a professional indemnity.

Anyone who provides a specialist service for paying clients needs errors and omissions insurance. No matter what service you offer -- words, numbers, photography, design, or coaching -- if clients pay you, you’re a professional in the eyes of the law.  

And that makes you vulnerable. If a client decides your work fell short of their expectations, you could end up with a negligence claim on your hands. It doesn’t matter if you think the claim is justified or not, you’ll still have to do something about it. Legal claims don’t just magically disappear. 

Without the right cover, you’ll have to find a lawyer and pay legal fees plus compensation if the case doesn’t go your way.    

Errors and omissions insurance gives you the financial resources to fight a claim – groundless or not. It’s peace of mind and protection for your pocket in one policy. Simple as that. 

Errors and omissions insurance pays your legal fees plus compensation if a client claims you, or anyone you employ:

• Made a mistake

• Gave bad advice

• Omitted something

• Missed a deadline

• Failed to deliver what you promised.

What’s more, your policy can cover:

• Claims over work you did in the past

• Your work anywhere in the world, as long as the claim is filed in the UK.

E&O insurance is not required by law. But you may find your clients insist you have a policy in place before they’ll sign a contract with you. It’s as much for their protection as it is for yours. If you don’t deliver what you promised, or you make a mistake and it costs your client money, clients need to know they’ll recoup their losses.

Yes. Even if you work solely from home, your clients are still paying you for your service. Give the wrong advice or make a mistake and they can still hold you liable – especially if it costs them money. Wherever you work from, as a professional you need the financial protection and peace of mind an E&O policy provides.

We can’t tell you exactly how much cover you need. We can only give you your options. We’ll explain what limits are available and your excess options (how much you’ll contribute towards the cost if there’s a claim).

To work out how much cover you need, it’s best to think worst-case scenario and choose an excess you could afford if there’s a claim. Remember to check your client contracts too. These often specify limits and the number of years they expect you to have cover.

That depends on your business activities. We can provide public, product and employer’s liability plus errors and omissions insurance in one package. We can also offer you cover for loss or damage to commercial property, buildings, office contents, stock and computer equipment (including data loss). If you’d like a policy to protect you from loss of income, we offer business interruption insurance too.

It’s worth keeping your cover going for a while, even if you retire or cease trading. There’s always the chance claims will arise for work you’ve done in the past. Run-off cover, as it’s called, is required by professional associations for a period of up to 6 years for chartered accountants, surveyors or solicitors.

Many of our customers receive a discount if they’re a member of a professional association or industry body. What’s more, to make sure you meet the standards required by these associations, we can offer dedicated policy wordings tailored to your profession.  

To get cover customised cover and see how much you can save, talk to one of our advisers today.

Yes, of course. Spread the cost of your insurance by setting up a Direct Debit and pay monthly through our provider, Premium Credit Limited (PCL). 

To find out how it works, please visit our Direct Debit page. If you’d like to know more about how PCL and Everywhen work together, please read our Regulatory Information. 

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to your insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.