Liability Insurance for Home Inspectors – E&O And GL Insurance

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To be fully covered, insurance for home inspectors usually includes both errors and omissions insurance and general liability insurance. By coupling these two insurance products together, home inspectors can rest easy knowing that they are covered from the most common claims against home inspectors.

Errors and Omissions Insurance For Home Inspectors

Errors and omissions insurance protects home inspectors in case their client files a lawsuit or claim based on financial damages caused by omissions or mistakes in the inspection. Errors and omissions insurance for home inspectors will cover attorney fees, settlements, and any third-parties financial losses. EliteMGA’s errors and omissions insurance is powered by our own captive, EliteRE. When coupled with GL insurance, E&O insurance fully protects home inspectors from the most common claims in the industry.

General Liability (GL) Insurance For Home Inspectors

General liability insurance protects home inspectors from claims related to property damage and personal injury to their customers or a third party. General Liability insurance is sometimes required by the state or to enter a property. EliteMGA’s general liability insurance for home inspectors is designed to cover residential and commercial inspectors, radon, mold, termite inspectors, green/energy auditors, and infrared thermographers. Our general liability insurance includes products and operations, medical payments, rented property or premises, and much more.

Home Inspector Insurance From EliteMGA

At EliteMGA, we are committed to our clients. We are constantly striving to offer the most up-to-date, varied coverage, with the most competitive rates, that is why we started our own insurance company just for the Home Inspection business (EliteRE). Our home inspectors work hard, and we believe that they deserve personalized coverage, made just for home inspectors, by the experts that know your business!

EliteMGA’s home inspector insurance is uniquely positioned to offer tailored coverage at competitive rates through their own insurance captive, EliteRE. EliteRE is the first and only insurance carrier 100% dedicated to the home inspection industry and designed with home inspectors in mind. EliteMGA has years of experience providing home inspector liability insurance in all 50 states. By law, certain states require a home inspector to carry insurance. To learn more about your state-specific requirements, visit our State by State Insurance Requirements page.

Other Types Of Professional Liability Insurance For Home Inspectors’ Needs

Errors and Omissions insurance is an important component in a home inspector’s figurative toolbox, but there are several other types of insurance that a home inspector should look into in order to make sure he or she is as fully protected as possible.

Bodily Injury AND Property Damage Insurance

The two types of exposure that a home inspector must be insured against include bodily injury and property damage. Bodily injury is when the inspector’s actions or alleged errors in their inspection report result in someone being physically harmed. Property Damage is when the inspector’s actions or alleged errors in their inspection report result in damage to the property or loss of use of the property. A home inspector needs both types of coverage to be protected.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial Vehicle Insurance is designed to cover physical damage and liability for amounts, situations, and usage not covered by a personal auto policy. This type of business insurance covers a variety of vehicles. You may also have heard of this coverage referred to as commercial auto insurance, commercial car insurance, truck insurance, or fleet insurance.

Drone-Aviation Liability

Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS/UAVs, are the latest technology utilized in varying industries ranging from agriculture to surveillance. As the popularity and list of uses for UAS and UAVs grow, so does the need to properly insure the aircraft for physical damage as well as the risk of liability. EliteMGA now offers coverage for inspectors who use drones and other aerial devices during the course of business. To learn more, please contact us.

Tool & Equipment Coverage

Is your equipment really insured when the unexpected happens? You are eligible to purchase tools and equipment coverage through EliteMGA, LLC. Our policy has better protection than most business policies on your tools, tablets, and even your drones.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

Worker’s Compensation Insurance can make up the difference for any lost wages and medical expenses incurred and when you are injured on the job. This kind of insurance ensures that you are not held responsible for any medical expenses you encounter from being injured during an inspection. The insurance would also protect you from having to go to court to obtain compensation (the way you would in a Personal Injury case).

Bonding Insurance

Normally referred to as simply “bonding,” this type of insurance protects against loss caused by negligence, fraud, or dishonesty. It means that if something goes wrong with an inspection as the result of another person or company, you and your business will be protected.

How Much Does Home Inspector Liability Insurance Cost?

Policies for home inspector liability insurance vary greatly in price based on:

  • Bodily injury and property damage coverage
  • Claims made vs occurrence policies
  • Limits and deductibles, and more.
errors and omissions for home inspectors- EliteMGA

Since liability insurance for home inspectors can be tailored to your specific business’s needs and services offered, annual deductible options range from $1,500 to $10,000 and liability limits range from $100,000 to exceed $1,000,000. At EliteMGA, we are specialists with over 15 years of experience exclusively insuring home inspectors. With EliteRE, our captive carrier, we can offer competitive pricing with the most appropriate limits and deductibles for your business including specialty coverages and discount opportunities.

What Type of Insurance Does a Home Inspector Need?

With a basic understanding of insurance for home inspectors, it’s possible to tie all the components together. To be fully protected by insurance, a home inspector is best served by having both General Liability and Errors & Omissions coverage with sufficient coverage for Bodily Injury and Property Damage exposures.

Requirements for having liability insurance for home inspectors vary from state to state, with some requiring both E&O and General or neither of the two. It is crucial to understand what is required in the inspector’s home state as a baseline so that they can make determinations about what insurance they are required to purchase and provide during a home inspection.

Understanding Your Home Inspector Liability Insurance

Although an inspector may think it is the responsibility of the insurer to thoroughly lay out all aspects of the insurance policy in a way that they can understand, that responsibility actually falls on the inspector. It is the home inspector’s responsibility to read every line of the policy and ask questions until they thoroughly understand each item. This is the only way to ensure that they know what is covered and what is not covered. Just like a home buyer should read every page of the inspection report, a responsible home inspector will read every page of his or her policy to have a thorough understanding of what their policy covers and what it excludes. This begins with an explanation of whether the policy covers Claims Made and/or Occurrence.

Home Inspector claim form - EliteMGA

Does Professional Liability Insurance for Home Inspectors Cover Errors and Omissions?

Insurance forms and advertisements are often filled with words that have the same or similar meaning. This question is a case in point. Professional Liability coverage and Errors and Omissions (E&O) coverage are synonymous. This type of insurance indemnifies the policyholder for allegations of negligent acts that result in financial loss. A negligent act could certainly include an error or omission in performing a home inspection service so you could very well state that professional liability insurance for home inspectors covers errors and omissions and vice versa. In either case, the wise Home Inspector professional will want to make sure they have adequate insurance to protect their assets and business from financial loss.

What’s the Difference Between General Liability Insurance for Home Inspector and E&O Insurance?

While general liability coverage is an important consideration, the claims are less frequent than errors or omissions and usually of a lower dollar amount. General Liability policies have more restrictions, which results in a less expensive policy. The major restriction is called a “Professional Liability” exclusion that reads “This policy will not cover claims arising out of the rendering or failure to render professional services.” This is why an E&O insurance policy is often referred to as professional liability insurance.

Most major claims that a home inspector will face come from an alleged failure in the rendering of professional services. In other words, Errors & Omissions (E&O) claims. This is why a home inspector E&O insurance policy provides greater specificity of coverage in terms of bodily injury and property damage.

Testimonials

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben Garrison at length about insurance and liability. I not only learned what to look for when I was comparison shopping, but I received an invaluable education as to what exactly I needed to be insured for. I can’t rate this experience high enough. For home inspectors there’s only one guy you should be talking to.

Juan de la Cruz

Easy to use, quick response, able to answer all of my questions and provide the E&O and liability insurance I need.

Steve C

So easy. Great source for E&O and General Liability business coverage. Highly recommend. Niccole, their Sr. Program Rep is knowledgeable, courteous, and helpful.

TJB

This will be my second year with EliteMGA for my home inspection general liability and Errors and Omissions insurance. Personally, I have never used a different company for home inspection insurance, but I have always had positive interactions and experiences with EliteMGA and would have no issues recommending them to other home inspectors I know.

Jarrett Ferris

I have been using EliteMGA for the last few years. They are very professional, responsive and answer all of the questions your would have. Perfect insurance for home inspectors. Love this company and will continue to use them for years to come. I highly recommend if your a home inspector to use EliteMGA for your insurance needs.

M Onasch

Fran was great! He took the time to talk to me and walk me through everything. Its amazing that EliteMGA provides this very needed niche of insurance for Home Inspectors. I am very grateful.

David Gillette

Best coverage for Home Inspectors. Great service and cost!

LDG Home Inspection, LLC