Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance for Home Inspectors
Did you know that more than half of home inspectors will face at least one insurance claim during their careers? Since the vast majority of those claims are for alleged mistakes or oversights, errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for home inspectors is crucial.
You may wonder: Do I need an E&O policy? What does an E&O policy cover? What is not covered by E&O insurance? How much errors and omissions insurance do I need? And what does home inspector E&O cost? Get answers to these frequently asked questions and more below.
Do I need an E&O policy?
Home inspector insurance requirements vary by state. As of February 2024, 32 percent of states require home inspector professional liability insurance. To learn how much home inspector E&O your area mandates, check out our FAQ page and select your state in the map or alphabetical list.
But your work doesn’t stop at knowing your state’s home inspector insurance requirements. Even if your state doesn’t require E&O insurance for home inspectors, we and other experts in the field strongly encourage you to carry errors and omissions insurance for home inspectors to avoid large payouts for claims and to receive claims handling and defense. Without home inspector errors and omissions insurance, you’re responsible to find and fund representation in a lawsuit. If you reach a settlement or judgment, you’re responsible to pay that cost on your own. When home inspectors pay to resolve claims out of their own pockets, the emotional and financial burden can be so significant that they go out of business.
Alternatively, by carrying home inspector professional liability insurance, you can safeguard your business. Whether you make a mistake, leave something out of your report, or receive a frivolous allegation, home inspector E&O insurance can give you peace of mind and protection.
What does a home inspector E&O policy cover?
Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for home inspectors, also known as professional liability for home inspectors, protects you when your clients accuse you of missing something during their inspection—or, at the very least, leaving it out of your report. In other words, home inspectors’ errors and omissions insurance protects you when clients accuse you of not doing your job right.
Typically, home inspector errors and omissions insurance claims arise from accusations of:
Some examples of common home inspectors’ E&O insurance claims include:
- A home inspector allegedly failed to report significant water intrusion
- A claimant accused a home inspector of missing leaks in their roof
- Purportedly, a home inspector failed to detect a compromised foundation
- A home inspector allegedly didn’t report mold
- A claimant accused a home inspector of misidentifying their plumbing
Note that any claims for optional services, like mold and pest, hit your home inspector E&O insurance. And just because you don’t provide an optional service, like radon inspections, doesn’t mean that a client cannot sue you for a radon-related issue. That’s why it’s important to carry endorsements for any service for which you’d like professional liability for home inspectors. You also need your pre-inspection agreement signed prior to every inspection.
For more information on the most common home inspector E&O insurance claims, read our article, “Top 5 Claims Against Home Inspectors.”
What is not covered by E&O insurance for home inspectors?
While claims questioning the quality of your home inspection or service are the most prevalent, your business can receive other types of accusations not covered by home inspector errors and omissions insurance, too. Here’s a quick chart of other types of claims your home inspection company may face and what type of insurance you’d need to protect you from them.
| Type of Claim | Insurance Necessary |
|---|---|
| Third-Party Bodily Injury | General Liability |
| Third-Party Property Damage | General Liability |
| Inspector Injury or Death | Workers' Compensation |
| Equipment Damage | Inland Marine |
| Accusations of Theft | Crime Coverage |
Here at InspectorPro, our professional liability insurance for home inspectors includes general liability coverage, too. By carrying both general liability and errors and omissions insurance for home inspectors in one policy, you are more prepared to face the most common claims against home inspectors.
To learn more, read our article “E&O vs General Liability: What they are and why you need both.”
How much errors and omissions insurance do I need?
Many inspectors ask themselves: How much professional liability or E&O insurance do I need? The answer depends upon home inspector insurance requirements and your risk tolerance.
As we discussed earlier, most states require you to carry home inspector E&O insurance. Home inspector insurance requirements can come in the form of:
- Minimum standards for insurance limits, or how much your home inspector E&O can pay towards covered claims each policy period.
- Mandatory insurance endorsements for ancillary services, like mold inspections.
Risk tolerance is how much you’re willing to leave to chance. The higher your risk tolerance, the less home inspector E&O insurance you’ll carry. But if you prefer to invest in more protection, you’ll purchase more home inspectors’ errors and omissions insurance.
The best E&O insurance for home inspectors matches your home inspector insurance requirements and your individual risk tolerance.
What does home inspector E&O cost?
How much is errors and omissions insurance for home inspectors? What errors and omissions insurance costs for home inspectors depends on a variety of factors, including:
- Exposure, or how many inspections you perform and how much you charge for them.
- Coverage, or what limits, deductible, and endorsements you choose.
- Claims history, or how many claims you’ve had and their outcomes.
Learn more about each of these cost factors on our pricing FAQ page.
Since underwriters calculate rates based on your unique business needs, the only way to know how much your home inspector E&O insurance will cost is to get a quote.
To get a free, no-obligation quote for errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for home inspectors, visit our application page.
The best E&O insurance for home inspectors
Here at InspectorPro, we have the best E&O insurance for home inspectors. How do we know it’s the best?
- Our home inspector E&O tailored to the home inspection industry.
- We’ve got superior claims handling, including unparalleled pre-claims assistance.
- Our pre-inspection agreements have the proper provisions and case law in place to prevent and triumph over claims.
- Our quality customer service makes purchasing E&O insurance for home inspectors for the first time a breeze and renewing each policy period even easier.
So don’t wait. Apply now for our errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for home inspectors to get the peace of mind and protection you deserve.
Not insured with us but want our E&O for home inspectors?
Apply today to receive a free, no-obligation quote.
