Home Inspector E&O Insurance: Cost & General Info
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.
Without home inspector errors and omissions insurance (also called home inspector E&O insurance or professional liability insurance), that money will come out of your pocket if a judgment is issued against you. Plus, there are the costs associated with a court case.
All home inspectors want to believe they’ll never make that type of mistake. But given that you assess countless large and small details every time you inspect a home, the odds are that every inspector will make an error at some point.
Fortunately, home inspector E&O insurance can protect you from the financial fallout of honest mistakes.
Errors and Omissions Insurance for Home Inspectors: What’s the Cost?
A number of factors are considered when determining what you’ll pay for errors and omissions insurance for home inspectors—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. However, biBERK’s E&O insurance policies start around $600 per year.
When you consider that even a small error can lead to thousands of dollars in expenses, an E&O policy is very cost-effective protection. Plus, you save when you purchase coverage from biBERK. Our direct-to-you approach eliminates middlemen and brokers, which means we can offer insurance policies to you at up to 20% less than other providers.
You can get an instant quote for home inspector E&O insurance online anytime to learn what your cost will be.
What’s Covered by Home Inspectors Errors and Omissions Insurance?
Home inspectors errors and omissions insurance covers three main areas. These may be actual or alleged problems with the service you’ve provided to a client.
- Unfulfilled duties. This is when you’re expected to take certain actions but fail to do so. 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 found in the inspection.
- Negligence. Here, you haven’t used appropriate care in doing your work. For instance, you skip an important part of an inspection and, in doing so, 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 note 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 claim that you’ve made an error. And if they make that accusation, you’ve got to answer it, and that expense alone can be far more than your annual home inspector insurance cost.
What Isn’t Covered by Home Inspectors Errors and Omissions Insurance?
As with 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 customer’s property
- Injuries to your employees and the associated medical costs
- Damage to your business property
While illegal acts aren’t covered under any type of small business insurance policy, the other items in the list above—as well as other risks—can be covered by different types of policies from biBERK, such as:
You should look into these other coverages to determine if you need them. And if you have questions about whether the protection they provide is important for your business, our licensed insurance experts are happy to answer them.
You’ll also be happy to know that biBERK makes managing business insurance quick and convenient for busy home inspectors like you. You can purchase policies in as little as five minutes, manage those policies, and report claims all online. That includes getting a Certificate of Insurance (COI) whenever you need one.
Home Inspector Insurance From an Industry Leader: Well Worth the Cost
When you buy a policy from biBERK, your annual home inspector insurance cost 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 in the home inspection services you’ve provided to a client and are being sued, you don’t want to 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 in place.