You give your clients the very best, so shouldn’t your insurance do the same thing for your business? Benzinga’s put together this guide to professional liability insurance in Texas to help you find the right solution for your business.
When you’re shopping for business insurance in Texas, you’ll probably come across professional liability insurance. This type of business insurance is an important product for many industries. Wondering if it’s right for you? Here are some options to consider.
What is Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional liability insurance, or PLI, is a type of coverage built for professionals. It protects lawyers, doctors and other types of professionals from risks like negligence, personal liability and malpractice.
Best Professional Liability Insurance in Texas
- Best For:Comprehensive coverage/Business Owners' PolicyVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through The Hartford Business Insurance's website
- Best For:Start-ups, the self-employed and small businessesVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through CoverWallet Business's website
- Best For:Business owners who need professional liability coverage quicklyVIEW PROS & CONS:
- Comprehensive coverage/Business Owners' Policy
1. Best Overall for Professional Liability Insurance: The Hartford
You want an insurance provider that understands your business needs. This is especially true for professional liability insurance. The Hartford strives to give you the exact coverage that your business needs.
The Hartford’s website takes the time to describe why you might need professional liability insurance for your business. It breaks information down into industry categories to tell you exactly what coverage it can offer, including:
- Lawyers
- Consultants and other professionals
- Accountants and tax preparers
- Home inspectors
- Technology professionals
- Real estate professionals
The Hartford is an insurance provider that can tailor a policy to meet your business needs.
- Staying compliant with state and federal regulations
2. Best for Small Businesses: biBERK
A part of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, biBERK advertises itself as an expert in small business insurance.
This insurance provider offers a personal touch because it insures your business directly instead of through an insurance broker. This adds up to cost savings for you since you’re not paying the insurance provider and an insurance broker. biBERK also claims that its policies are up to 20% less expensive than similar policies from other insurance companies.
Get a quote from biBERK online. If you want to work with someone directly, you can also call with questions about your quote or purchase a policy.
- Small businesses with both part and full-time employees
3. Best for Self-Employed Professionals: Hiscox
Hiscox is an insurance provider committed to helping you understand exactly what is and is not covered by your professional liability insurance policy. It understands that as a self-employed professional, your needs may be different than other businesses.
Hiscox insures several common self-employed businesses, including consulting firms, real estate agents, therapists, health and beauty professionals and more. In some professions, you may have to consider the requirements that your insurance needs to meet. Hiscox’s liability insurance coverage satisfies most standard contract insurance requirements.
If you ever do need to report a claim, Hiscox will immediately be ready to defend you and appoint an attorney if needed for covered claims. You’ll also benefit from worldwide coverage and agents knowledgeable about your business.
4. Best for Variety of Coverage: AIG
Do you feel like your business insurance needs might be complex? AIG has multiple professional liability insurance policies that offer specific coverage tailored to the needs of your industry.
You can also take advantage of AIG’s ReputationGuard®, designed to protect your company’s reputation and brand value. This product offers the option to add coverage for income loss if it happens as a result of damage to your business reputation.
- Comprehensive insurance choice for multiple medical professionals on a team
5. Best for Medical Malpractice: The Doctors Company
The Doctors Company specializes in providing insurance to doctors and other health care providers. As a physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, this provider understands how to best defend and protect medical practices and providers. The Doctors Company’s patient safety specialists partner with your practice or medical group to create a personalized service plan to meet your needs.
This insurance provider offers 24/7 support and additional solutions created with medical practices in mind. Specific coverage options include:
- MediGuard coverage to provide legal representation for administration actions brought against you by Medicare, Medicaid, medical licensing boards and more.
- CyberGuard coverage to protect you against claims that could come from the accidental transmission of electronic patient information, as well as from theft or loss.
- Access to several resources specific to your industry, which can help you implement protocols designed to reduce the number of malpractice allegations.
Cost of Professional Liability Insurance in Texas
As with any type of insurance, the cost of your professional liability insurance policy will depend on a number of factors. Here are some things that may impact the cost of your professional liability insurance policy:
- Length of time in business
- Type of business
- Business size, including the number of employees and number of clients
- Where your business is located
- Your policy coverage limits and other policy terms
You may be able to receive discounts from some insurance providers. If you don’t see any discounts advertised on a provider’s website, don’t be afraid to ask. Here are some discounts to keep an eye out for:
- Clean claims history: If you can show that you haven’t made any claims for your business in the past, your insurance provider may reward you with a lower rate.
- Multiple product discounts: Some insurance providers will offer a discount if you purchase more than 1 insurance product.
- Risk management: If you put risk management practices in place, your insurance provider may show its appreciation by lowering your rate.
Here’s a real-world example of a professional liability insurance policy from Hiscox. Let’s say you’re a business consultant based in Dallas with an annual revenue of $350,000. If you choose a policy with a $1 million limit and a $5,000 deductible, your policy could cost $65 per month.
What Does Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
You may have also heard of errors and omissions coverage. That’s exactly what professional liability insurance covers. This type of business insurance is designed to help protect your business if you’ve made a mistake or failed to perform a service. It can even help cover you if an untrue claim is made against your business. Here are some of the major things that professional liability insurance covers.
Claims and Damages
If you perform a service or provide advice to a client, your client likely expects to get results. If a client doesn’t see the results expected, your client may decide to sue you for damages. An example of this would be if you design a marketing campaign for your client designed to bring in 500 leads. Let’s say it only brings in 200. Some insurance providers may even be able to cover you for claims that are made for work that take place before your policy begins.
Defense Costs
A good insurance provider will be prepared to guide you through the legal process after a covered claim has been made. Whether the covered claim is true or not, your insurance provider may be able to appoint an expert attorney to represent you in the legal matter.
Negligence
A client can accuse you of negligence, whether it’s a founded accusation or not. Either way, professional liability insurance can protect you if this happens.
There are several simple things that can be considered negligence. For example, let’s say you accidentally give incorrect advice to your client or forget to tell your client an important piece of information. In some cases, an unforeseen circumstance may cause you to be unable to perform or deliver your service within the projected time frame.
These things can happen to any business, and in the wrong situation, may result in a negligence claim. Your policy will help cover the claim expenses and damages that result.
Personal Injury
In the case of professional liability insurance, personal injury comes in the form of libel and slander. If someone in your business is accused of having said or written something negative or untrue about another person or business, your business could get sued. This could happen whether the claim is true or not, and could even happen as a result of something said accidentally in passing.
If these claims occur, it could negatively affect your business and the person accused of wrongdoing. Your policy could step in to help you navigate and manage these claims.
Do I Need Professional Liability Insurance?
There are several types of business insurance out there. How do you know which types of insurance you need? This is where working with the right insurance provider comes in. Use this guide to determine which insurance providers you’d like to contact. Then, get a fast and free quote to compare different insurance providers and what each can offer you. Getting a quote will allow you to compare prices.
If your business offers professional services or advice, you should probably consider purchasing a professional liability insurance policy. Most businesses need workers comp insurance, too. Look for insurance providers with experience in your industry, as these providers are likely to understand the risks your business may face.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which businesses need professional liability insurance?
Any business that provides a service or advice to clients needs to protect themselves against liability.
What happens if you don't have professional liability insurance?
If you don’t have this type of coverage, you may be at risk for personal financial liability, penalties for not carrying the right type of coverage and even legal responsibility.
About Ashley Hart
Ashley Hart is a personal finance writer passionate about helping people feel empowered to take control of their finances. She has more than eight years of writing experience, focused on insurance.