Home Inspector E&O Insurance: Cost & General Info
Picture this: You’re performing a home inspection and miss a problem with the electrical system. The buyer goes through with the purchase, learns that correcting the problem will cost $6,500, and sues you to pay for that expense. Compare that amount to the home inspector insurance cost for your business, and you’ll see that it definitely makes sense to have coverage.
If you don’t have home inspector errors and omissions insurance (also called home inspector E&O insurance or professional liability insurance) and a court finds you liable, that money will come out of your pocket. And that’s just one potential expense. There are lots of other costs associated with court cases.
All home inspectors want to believe they’ll never make that type of mistake. But every time you inspect a home, you’ve got to assess a huge number of large and small details, so it’s possible you’ll miss something at some point. Maybe it’s a minor issue that doesn’t result in a lawsuit, but it could be an error that creates a significant liability for your business. Fortunately, home inspector insurance can protect you from the financial fallout of honest mistakes.
How much is E&O insurance for home inspectors? Great question! This article is all about home inspector insurance rates and how to learn exactly what you’ll pay.
E&O Insurance for Home Inspectors: What’s the Cost?
What you’ll pay for E&O insurance for home inspectors is based on multiple factors—how long you’ve been in business, your claims history, the level of coverage and policy limits you need, your revenue and number of employees, etc. But to give you a ballpark figure, biBerk’s home inspector insurance rates start at around $600 per year.
Even a small error can lead to thousands of dollars in expenses, so a home inspector E&O policy is truly cost-effective protection. Plus, you save when you purchase coverage from biBerk. Our direct-to-you approach eliminates middlemen and brokers, so we can offer insurance policies to you at up to 20% less than other providers. Just imagine what you can do with those savings!
You can get an instant quote for your home inspector insurance cost online anytime to learn what you’ll pay for coverage.
What’s Covered by Home Inspectors Errors and Omissions Insurance?
Home inspectors errors and omissions insurance covers three main areas. These may be actual problems with the service you’ve provided to a client or just things they’re accusing you of.
- Unfulfilled duties. This is when you’re expected to take certain actions but don’t follow through. For example, this could be that you don’t produce a report for a homebuyer by an agreed-to date, which causes them to miss their deadline for notifying the seller of issues from the inspection.
- Negligence. Here, you don’t use appropriate care in doing your work. For instance, you skip an important part of an inspection and cause financial damage to your client.
- Errors. This is when you make a mistake, like if there are clear indicators of some problem with a home and you overlook them.
It’s important to remember that home inspectors errors and omissions insurance can help protect you from alleged mistakes. Even if you’ve done your job exactly as you should, a client can say that you’ve made an error. If they make that claim, you’ve got to answer it, and that expense alone can be way more than your annual home inspector insurance cost.
What Isn’t Covered by Errors and Omission Insurance for Home Inspectors?
Like all insurance policies, home inspectors errors and omissions insurance has what are called exclusions—things that aren’t covered. This includes:
- Illegal acts or costs of defense for criminal prosecution
- Physical incidents like damaging a client's property
- Injuries to your employees and the associated medical costs
- Damage to your business property
Illegal acts aren’t covered under any type of small business insurance policy, but the other items in the list above—as well as other risks—can be covered by different types of policies from biBerk, like:
You should check out these other coverages to decide if you need them. And if you have questions about whether they're important for your business, our licensed insurance experts are happy to answer them.
You’ll also be glad to know that biBerk makes managing business insurance quick and convenient for busy home inspectors like you. You can buy policies in about five minutes, manage them, and report claims all online. That includes getting a Certificate of Insurance (COI) whenever you need one.
Critical Insurance Coverage for Every Stage of Your Business Journey
Insuring your home inspector business through biBerk is important no matter where you are in your career. If you’re just starting, it’s great to be backed by a trusted insurance provider like biBerk. Not only do you get a competitive home inspector insurance rate, but you also get guidance from licensed insurance experts whose goal is to help you protect your business and can recommend cost-effective insurance strategies that will help your business today and in the long term.
As you start thinking of yourself as a small business owner, you’ll see how important insurance is to your overall strategy. You’ll realize that you shouldn’t think of the different policies biBerk offers simply as business expenses in your budget; they’re actually valuable assets. We help you tailor your coverage to your business, providing financial protection and also keeping you in compliance with insurance regulations. For example, if you hire employees, you’ll probably need to buy workers’ compensation insurance.
If you’re an experienced home inspector and business owner, you’ll probably appreciate the advanced coverage insights from biBerk’s insurance experts and the resources on our website. We’re focused on helping you mitigate risks and protect your business from the unexpected. That includes policy reviews and updates. And the fact that we can do that at a competitive price means more revenue goes straight to your bottom line. That’s a real win-win!
So, when you need home inspector E&O or any type of small business insurance, keep in mind that biBerk is here for you.
Home Inspector Insurance From an Industry Leader: Well Worth the Cost
When you buy a policy from biBerk, your home inspector insurance rate is affordable, and the modest amount you pay gets you much more than great coverage. You get support and assistance from a small business insurance leader. We’re part of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, with millions of satisfied customers, more than 75 years of insurance experience, and $38 billion in paid claims in 2020.
When you’ve been accused of an error or omission and the client is suing you, you won’t feel like you’re facing that issue alone. Knowing biBerk can pay your defense costs and also provide compensation for valid claims is very reassuring.
You’ve got other homes to inspect, and we make sure you can focus on those projects knowing you’ve got cost-effective, customized financial protection backing you every time you take on a new project.