Professional Liability Insurance Coverage
Details of professional liability insurance coverage
Professional liability insurance coverage gives your business protection from the risks you face in delivering your professional services. The section below discusses everything our professional liability insurance coverage offers, since we want you to feel secure about what your policy does and doesn’t cover.
What is covered? | What is not covered? | |
|  Bodily injury or property damage | |
| Fraudulent acts | |
| Employment matters | |
| False advertising | |
| Patents and trade secrets | |
| Personally identifiable information | |
| Other services | |
|
Your Hiscox professional liability insurance policy covers:
Alleged or actual negligence
Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage protects your business against errors and omissions, actual or alleged, which occur while providing your professional services. This includes giving incorrect advice, an omission, or failing to deliver your service.
Defense costs
Our job is simple: to be there for you when you need us. When a covered claim is reported, we’ll immediately defend you. We’ll also appoint an attorney if necessary, even if the claim is groundless.
Personal injury (e.g., libel or slander)
Your Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage will protect you against both libel and slander if committed as part of your professional services.
Copyright infringement
We understand your business faces specific risks. For example, IT or technology consultants can be sued for infringing software code. As a result, we offer IT consultants $200,000 of coverage for damages and claim expenses relating to this risk.
For marketing consultants, we include $200,000 of coverage for damages and claims expenses alleging the infringement of a third party’s copyright or trademark.
Worldwide professional liability insurance coverage
Business knows no boundaries. Neither does our coverage. We cover claims arising from work done around the world as long as the claim is filed in the United States, a U.S. territory or Canada.
Temporary staff and subcontractors
Your professional liability insurance coverage protects you from claims arising from services done by your employees, temporary staff and independent contractors.
Claims arising from services provided in the past
Hiscox is one of the few insurers to cover unknown claims arising from work completed before you were even insured with us. We cover you even before you purchased your first professional liability insurance policy giving you true peace of mind.
Claims and damages
The best-case scenario is to prepare for the worst-case scenario. If you lose a large claim, the costs associated could close your business. Your Hiscox professional liability insurance policy covers claims for damages, including up to $250,000 of punitive damages where allowed by law.
Start your professional liability insurance quote
Get a professional liability insurance quote and buy your coverage today, or call one of our licensed advisors at 866-283-7545 (Monday - Friday, 8 am - 10 pm EST). We would be happy to help.
What your Hiscox professional liability insurance policy doesn’t cover:
We want our customers to fully understand what they are buying. Below is a summary of some of the key exclusions of your professional liability policy. For complete details of all the exclusions, please read the policy wording.
Bodily injury or property damage
Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage won't cover damages or claims expenses if you injure or damage someone’s property. If you’d like to be covered for bodily injury or property damage liability, please visit our general liability insurance page.
Fraudulent acts
We won’t cover any fraudulent, dishonest, or criminal acts. However, we’ll defend these actions until they're proven to be fraudulent, dishonest or criminal by proper process in court. If this happens, we’ll kindly request that you reimburse us for those costs.
Employment matters
We will not cover you for claims alleging any improper employment practices committed against your employees or for any workers’ compensation claims or employer’s liability claims.
False advertising
Your Hiscox professional liability insurance will not cover you for any false advertising claims.
Patents and trade secrets
We will not cover you for any claims that allege an infringement of a patent or theft of a trade secret.
Personally identifiable information
We will not cover your failure to protect any personally identifiable information in your care, custody or control.
Other services
We will not cover any medical, nursing, insurance broker/agent, legal, actuarial, architectural or engineering services, regardless of your occupation. We will also not cover any services you perform not specified by the services endorsement attached to your policy.
Professional liability insurance claims examples:
Protection, even if you haven’t made a mistake
Although it may not be your fault, your client has a different view about the scope of work regarding its new invoicing system. They allege the system lacks the functionality required. Being sued for a misunderstanding like this is common.
Luckily, your Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage will defend you against any claim and pay any damages you are liable for, up to the policy limits.
Copyright infringement
You’re a marketing consultant creating a new advertising campaign for a client. By accident, you use a trademark similar to an unknown business's. Although done unknowingly, you infringed the intellectual property rights of that other business and chances are you may be sued.
If necessary, your Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage will appoint an attorney to defend you, and we’ll pay related damages, up to the policy limits.
Negligent acts
You’re an IT or technology consultant. You’re installing software changes for a client when a virus enables hackers to access their customer database file because you disabled the firewall before making the installation. You may be sued.
Don’t worry, call us, and we’ll start defending your business immediately for covered claims and pay for related damages, up to the policy limits.
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This information is provided to assist you in understanding the coverage we offer and does not modify the terms and conditions of any insurance policy, nor does it imply that any claim is covered. Coverages are subject to underwriting and may not be available in all states.
About Hiscox small business insurance
- Small business specialists - focus on insuring professional businesses with less than 10 employees.
- Customized coverage - we help customize coverage to your specific needs. No more, no less.
- Great value - buy direct from Hiscox and enjoy excellent service and real value for money.
- Money back guarantee - be confident in your purchase with our 14 day guarantee.
- Financial strength - Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. is 'A' rated (Excellent) by A.M. Best.