What does home inspector insurance cost?
What Affects Home Inspector Insurance Rates for E&O and General Liability
What impacts home inspector insurance costs? What should I know about home inspector errors and omissions insurance costs? How do I get a quote for home inspectors business insurance?
If you’re shopping for insurance, you probably have questions like these. While the average cost of home inspector insurance ranges widely. That’s because policy pricing is determined by several home inspection insurance cost factors.
But don’t worry. At InspectorPro, answering inspectors’ questions is one of our favorite pastimes. Let’s break down the nuances of home inspector insurance rates.
(Keep in mind, this guide is intended to answer questions about errors and omissions (E&O) and general liability (GL) rates. If you have employees or want to protect your inspection equipment, learn about our workers’ compensation insurance and inland marine insurance.)
Why the “average cost of home inspector insurance” is misleading.
Have you recently researched “average cost of home inspector insurance”?
The answers can be misleading. They lead inspectors to believe all insurance quotes are the same. They suggest that the “average” policy price covers everything you need to stay safe and insurable in your high-risk field.
In reality, home inspector insurance costs can (and should) vary widely depending on your business’s unique needs.
Here at InspectorPro, home inspector insurance costs around $1,200-2,500 in annual premium.
A lower flat rate for home inspector E&O insurance costs and general liability costs may not consider the needs and risks that are instrumental to your business. This could leave crater-sized gaps in your coverage and cost you extra down the road.
In short, you get what you pay for. If you aren’t sufficiently covered during a claim, paying less for less coverage could leave you exposed.
Here are some factors to consider when comparing home inspector insurance rates.
What impacts home inspector insurance costs?
Customer Service: A Hidden Home Inspector Insurance Cost
Customer service may not seem that important to your insurance experience—that is, until you need it.
Anxiety and worry are never higher than when a customer calls demanding you of a poor service. You’ll second guess your next steps. You’ll wonder if you’re covered. And going days, weeks, or months without a call back from your insurer? That’s the last thing you’ll want.
So if the home inspector insurance costs seem pricier, investigate the quality of a company’s customer service and risk management services.
- Will they answer the phone or call you back promptly?
- Are they available when you have urgent questions and concerns?
- Do their claims handling and customer service teams work exclusively with home inspectors and know your industry inside and out?
Beyond the basic general liability and errors and omissions insurance cost for home inspectors, stellar service is a value worth considering. As for InspectorPro? You can get in touch with our customer service team here.
Coverage
There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all home inspector insurance cost. After all, you and your neighborhood competitor could both be home inspectors, but need vastly different kinds and amounts of coverage.
So before you ask “how much does home inspector insurance cost,” ask yourself this: How much coverage do I need?
The price of your insurance policy will depend on your:
1. Limits
You have two kinds of insurance limits:
- Occurrence Limits: the maximum amount the insurance company will pay per claim.
- Aggregate Limits: the maximum amount the insurance company will pay during the policy term.
Insurance limits represent the total dollar amount your insurance company can pay toward your covered claims in a given policy period. The higher the limits, the higher your professional liability coverage cost. Higher limits also mean more peace of mind during litigation, since there’s a higher ceiling for what your insurance will pay.
Limits play a big role in answering “how much is insurance for a home inspector?” You can’t just choose limits that save you money. You also need to think about:
- The limits required in your state. (Not sure what yours requires? Look for your state here.)
- Sublimits.
- Separate vs. shared limits.
2. Deductible
When inspectors ask about the average cost of home inspector insurance, they’re often focused on the cost of their policy’s premium, or what you pay annually. But that isn’t the only home inspector insurance cost to keep in mind.
When considering home inspector insurance costs, don’t overlook your deductible. It impacts what you’ll pay for a claim and for your home inspector insurance rates.
Remember how limits represent the max your insurance will pay in a claim? Your deductible represents the maximum amount you will be responsible for paying for defense and a potential settlement.
The higher your deductible, the more financial responsibility you take for a claim. That also translates to a lower annual insurance premium. On the other hand, a lower deductible will mean paying more for your insurance.
Learn how your deductible can boost your savings in our guide here.
3. Endorsements and Home Inspector Insurance Costs
Most home inspection insurance policies exclude ancillary services like mold or pool and spa inspections. That’s because these services carry additional risk and go beyond the definition of a “standard” home inspection.
To get coverage for claims involving these services, you’ll need an endorsement.
Endorsements override exclusions in your policy to change or add that coverage. They’re necessary even if you don’t perform ancillary services. For example, if a client accuses you of missing mold, and you don’t carry a mold endorsement, your insurance company won’t cover that claim—even if you weren’t hired for a mold inspection.
Yes, carrying endorsements will increase your home inspector insurance rates. On average, they each increase your home inspector insurance cost by one to 15 percent on top of your regular premium. But that additional cost often pales in comparison to the extra protection you get for specialty inspections.
Click here to learn how you can save money on your endorsements with the InspectorPro Bundle.
Exposure
Your revenue and how many inspections you perform also impact your risk. We call this your “exposure.”
The more inspections you perform, the more opportunities clients have to sue your home inspector business. It’s also why inspectors with employees typically face higher home inspector insurance costs than solo inspectors: because you’re performing more inspections.
This revenue and risk, in turn, influences your home inspector insurance costs. By performing more inspections, you increase your exposure, and your premium will be higher to account for the additional risk.
Claims History
Here’s another scenario that makes a huge difference with your home inspector insurance costs.
Let’s imagine that John and Jane are both home inspectors. John and Jane both apply for coverage with the same insurance company. They requested the same limits, they inspect roughly the same volume of homes every year, and neither have employees. But John’s quoted premium was higher than Jane’s quoted premium.
Why? John’s already had three claims during his five-year inspection career. Jane has gone five years without a single claim.
Your claims history is one of those home inspection insurance cost factors some inspectors forget to account for.
Still, home inspector errors and omissions insurance costs aren’t black and white. Neither are your past claims. In fact, many insurers will research your past claims to understand the circumstances. At InspectorPro, whether you were at fault, how you cooperated with the claims team, and how much the claim cost are some factors we’ll consider.
How much is home inspector insurance for experienced inspectors?
Considering your exposure and potential claims history, you may worry that home inspector liability insurance costs more for experienced inspectors. Since you’re covering more years of inspections with your retroactive coverage, it would make sense if your premiums increased over time.
But that isn’t always the case. In fact, you may find that home inspector insurance costs the same or less as you continue inspecting. It really depends on the other factors we have and will discuss here.
How to Keep Home Inspector Insurance Costs Down With Discounts
Eager to learn how to keep home inspector insurance costs down?
In addition to the above home inspection insurance cost factors, pricing also depends on any discounts your insurer offers.
1. Deductible Discounts
At InspectorPro, we offer several deductible discounts to reward our customers’ risk management. You can cut home inspector insurance costs with us by:
- Using our state-specific pre-inspection agreement. If you’re insured with us and you receive a covered claim while using our model inspection agreement, you can get $1,000 off your deductible. You must get it signed prior to starting your inspection. Learn more here.
- Go several years without a claim. Our diminishing deductible discount reduces your E&O deductible by 10 percent for every consecutive, claim-free policy period. Learn about the discount here.
- Report claims ASAP. Did you know you can cut your home inspector liability insurance costs for reporting claims early?
It’s true! So report conflicts and complaints before they escalate into claims. If it turns into a claim, you can receive up to 50 percent off your deductible. Get the details about our early reporting discount here.
By properly executing our pre-inspection agreement, reporting conflicts as soon as you’re aware of them, and celebrating several claims-free years, you can bring your deductible down to $0.
2. Endorsement Bundles
Here’s another way to save on your home inspector insurance costs: If you need multiple endorsements, choose the InspectorPro Bundle.
With typical home inspector insurance rates, you could pay one to 15 percent more per endorsement each year. Luckily, the InspectorPro Bundle includes all the following endorsements for a discounted price:
- Mold.
- Radon.
- Pest.
- Septic.
- Pool.
- Code.
- Lead.
- Carbon monoxide.
Ask your InspectorPro broker about adding the Bundle to your policy.
How do I get a quote for home inspectors business insurance?
Now that we’ve addressed common home inspection insurance cost factors, you probably understand why home inspector insurance costs are so unique to each inspection business.
If you only ask about the “average cost of home inspector insurance,” you’ll miss the opportunity to consider your:
- Years of experience.
- Claims history.
- Limits.
- Customer service experience.
- Potential discounts.
That’s why we tell inspectors not to trust pricing based on low home inspector insurance costs, alone. Instead, always pause and ask for a quote.
You might be wondering: How do I get a quote for home inspectors business insurance?
With InspectorPro, applying for coverage is easy and checks all the boxes. Click below to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Inspector Insurance Costs
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