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INDUSTRY CHECKLIST · PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

The professional services insurance checklist

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A professional services firm needs professional liability (errors and omissions) for the advice and work product it delivers, general liability for the office and client visits, cyber coverage because it holds client data, and workers' compensation once it has employees. Enterprise clients ask for all four in vendor onboarding, often with an umbrella and specific limits.

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Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 11, 2026 Updated
Coverage scoreA consultants and professional firm with the right wallet
Professional Liability (E&O)Renews in 47d
General LiabilityLive cert ✓
Cyber LiabilityCan switch
CoverMatch The client's MSA asks for professional liability with a retroactive date before your first project. Your policy's date is later — want it reviewed?
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Who asks for what

Who What they usually want to see
Enterprise client vendor program Professional liability and cyber at stated limits, GL with additional insured, workers' compensation, sometimes an umbrella and crime
Landlord GL with additional insured, property on improvements, workers' compensation
Platform or marketplace for your services Professional liability and GL at minimum limits
Staffing clients Everything above plus third-party EPLI and fidelity coverage for placed workers

How to check what you already have

  1. Professional liability dec page. Per-claim and aggregate limits, the retroactive date, and whether defense costs sit inside or outside the limit.
  2. General liability. Each occurrence and aggregate, blanket additional insured for clients and landlords.
  3. Cyber. Limits for breach response, liability, cyber extortion and funds transfer fraud. Many small policies cap funds transfer fraud low.
  4. Workers' compensation. States listed include every state where employees sit, including remote staff.
  5. Contract requirements. Upload the master services agreement; the wallet reads the insurance exhibit and compares it to the policies.

What usually goes wrong

  • Retroactive dates later than the oldest client relationship.
  • Remote employees in states the workers' compensation policy does not list.
  • Funds transfer fraud excluded or capped on a cyber policy bought for breach costs.
  • Scope drift: a marketing agency that starts building software has a different professional exposure than the policy describes.

Renewal timing

Claims-made policies punish gaps. Never let professional liability lapse between carriers; compare sixty days out and make sure the new policy carries the old retroactive date forward.

Questions people actually ask

What is the difference between general liability and professional liability?

General liability covers physical harm: someone injured, something damaged. Professional liability covers financial harm from your work or advice: a mistake, an omission, a missed obligation. Clients ask for both because they are different claims.

What is a retroactive date and why does the client care?

Professional liability is usually claims-made: it covers claims made during the policy period for work done after the retroactive date. If the retroactive date is after your first project for a client, earlier work is not covered, which is what the client's contract is checking.

Do I need cyber coverage if I use cloud software?

The cloud provider insures its infrastructure, not your account, your credentials or your clients' data in your hands. A phishing email that leads to a wire transfer or a leaked client file is your claim.

My clients want to be additional insured on professional liability. Is that normal?

It is common in contracts and often not available; most professional liability policies do not offer additional insured status. Additional insured on general liability is standard. A licensed agent can propose wording the client usually accepts.

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