Have you ever received a contract requiring you to have Professional Liability coverage and wondered what exactly it is? Well, SIA is here to break things down!
Professional Liability (PL) coverage is often referred to as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. These policies typically cover claims arising from errors, mistakes, or negligence in the delivery of personal services. Usually, this coverage is needed by licensed professionals (think doctors, lawyers, and insurance agents). However, others, such as photographers and videographers, are sometimes required to carry this coverage as well. If we think about Commercial General Liability (CGL) coverage as covering external malfunctions (such as property damage, injuring someone, or offending someone), we can think of PL insurance as covering internal malfunctions (such as contractual disputes not related to physical damage, failure to deliver a promised service/product, or negligence).
PL policies also typically cover your legal defense costs such as attorney fees, court costs, and expert witness fees associated with defending such claims. Plus, if you're found liable for damages due to E&O in your services, PL coverage can help cover the costs of settlements or judgements awarded to the injured party. Beyond financial protection, PL can also provide protection to your reputation. While PL policies provide broad coverage for E&O, they also contain exclusions that typically include, but are not limited to, intentional or dishonest acts, bodily injury, and property damage.
SIA clients with an MPEP policy who are covered for photography or videography can add PL to their policy for $100 with a $100,000 limit, but it only runs for the duration of your CGL policy. So, if you add PL coverage after you CGL policy starts, you won't get a full year of coverage from the date you add it, but rather only for the remainder of your CGL policy. Clients with SIA's individual performer policy or mobile vendor policy do not have the option to add Professional Liability at this time.
Here are some scenarios that resulted in lawsuits from the actions of photographers and videographers where PL coverage came into play:
- Failure to deliver a promised service/product:
- Missed a deadline due to unforeseen circumstances
- Failed to deliver the agreed-upon number of high-quality images/videos
- Delivered unusable images/videos
- Negligence:
- Failed to use/have a backup camera (and the original/main camera malfunctioned)
- Didn't properly back images/videos up and lost the files before delivering them to the client
- Provided incorrect advice (like on lighting or composition)
- Third-party failure:
- Hired a third-party who failed to deliver on their part of the agreement
If you have any questions about Professional Liability or would like to add this coverage to your photographer or videographer MPEP policy, please reach out to our office at 715-246-8908 or send an email to the MPEP Program Operations Manager, Sheri, at sheri@specialtyinsuranceagency.com!
