Top 5 Professional Liability Insurance Providers for Attorneys

As an attorney, you know you need professional liability protection probably better than anyone. We live in litigious times, and clients can be frustrated with results that don’t meet their expectations. You can get the best professional liability insurance from one of our top providers. We researched the best so you can rest assured that you are in good hands.  

Introduction to Professional Liability Insurance for Attorneys

Professional liability insurance provides protection from clients suing you for not executing your job duties professionally. There may be a contractual disagreement, or you may have made an error or innocent omission that results in a loss to the client. These losses can lead to a lawsuit or claim that you didn’t do your job properly. Professional liability insurance pays these types of claims. 

Importance of Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance is important for lawyers because it pays for the claims rather than attorneys paying out of pocket for the costs. Lawyers can rely on the insurance to not just pay the claim but to defend the case in court if that is necessary. Insurance companies will pay to have a legal defense of the case using their own top-notch legal team to protect you. 

How Professional Liability Insurance Protects Attorneys

Professional liability insurance pays the claims, so lawyers don’t have to when a disagreement about professional job execution arises. If the lawyer doesn’t have professional liability insurance, they’d have to pay the claim out of pocket from their own revenues and cash savings. This can be expensive. Insurance relieves attorneys of this burden and pays the claim for them.

Best Overall: Hiscox

Best in Claims: Liberty Mutual

Best Marketplace: Simply Business

Best for Large Offices: The Hartford

Best Online Process: biBerk

Best Overall: Hiscox

Why we chose it: Hiscox gives attorneys a cost-effective policy that is easy to set up and covers them for their professional liabilities. 

Hiscox makes it easy to get professional liability insurance for your legal office with its quick online quote process and fast underwriting. Hiscox has a long history of providing small business insurance for small businesses since 1901. It maintains an A rating with AM Best, demonstrating that it has the financial solvency to handle a rash of claims under catastrophic circumstances. Prices are competitive, so a small office can afford the protection it needs. Attorneys can bundle a professional liability policy with a general liability policy or business owners policy to conveniently have both policies under the same roof. 

Best in Claims: Liberty Mutual

Why we chose it: Liberty Mutual makes the claims process easy with an app that allows you to track progress and get updates, making it the best for claims. 

Liberty Mutual, best known for its personal lines of insurance, allows business owners to keep all insurance under one roof, making it easier to manage policies. The company underwrites its own policies, so there is no question that you’ll get the claims process Liberty Mutual is known for. The company has over a century of experience, dating back to its founding in 1912 in Massachusetts. It maintains an A rating with AM Best, demonstrating its financial solvency throughout the country. Liberty Mutual could do better with customer service, as many Trustpilot reviews suggest that the service isn’t helpful or always professional. 

Best Marketplace: Simply Insurance

Why we chose it: Simply Business is an excellent insuretech platform that compares major providers’ pricing for the same policy, making it the best marketplace.

Simply Business works with major providers such as Hiscox, CNA, and Travelers to ensure you don’t just get a good price, but you also get a reputable company to work with. As an online marketplace, it shops the policy for you, giving you options of who has the best price for the policy in question. Because it works with partner companies, Simply Business doesn’t have an AM Best rating on its own. Consumers should review the rating of the individual companies recommended in the quote. Additionally, consumers should expect the underlying companies to service the policy rather than Simply Business. It does exceptionally well with customer reviews, touting a 4.6-star rating with Trustpilot.

Best for Large Offices: The Hartford

Why we chose it: The Hartford underwrites firms with 20 or more lawyers with a specialized professional liability policy that is designed for the risks of a larger firm. 

The Hartford provides excess liability coverage in a specialized policy with limits up to $100,000,000. These are quoted as straight excess or excess quota-share policies to ensure mid to large legal firms get the right coverage. The Hartford has been providing insurance since its founding in 1810 and maintains its corporate headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. Small business owners can get business owners policies and workers’ compensation with The Hartford, making it a go-to for all insurance for small businesses. It maintains superior ratings with AM Best but falls short when it comes to reviews on Trustpilot. 

Best Online Process: biBerk

Why we chose it: biBerk has a five-minute underwriting application that offers attorneys 20% off of professional liability, all online.

biBerk is a Berkshire Hathaway company with the goal of making insurance more accessible to small business owners when they want it. Its online process is easy and sets the standard for simple underwriting processes. Despite the discounts, we find biBerk pricing to be more expensive than that of many competitors; however, it is backed by the highest AM Best rating available, an A++.  Customers appreciate the quality customer service they receive when servicing their policies or handling a claim. 

Criteria for Evaluating Professional Liability Insurance Providers

Policy Ape goes through an extensive review process to rank and rate insurance companies. Our process is looking at: 

• Coverage options and flexibility: Insurance companies should give consumers options for coverage and provide different policies to meet different needs. Consumers should be able to customize policies to fit their unique situations. 

• Pricing and value for money: We look for companies that offer competitive pricing for the policy in question and offer discounts when possible. 

• Reputation and financial stability: We look for companies with high AM Best ratings and that have a reputation for underwriting small business policies in a straightforward fashion. 

• Customer service and support: Companies that have a reputation for quality customer support fare better than those that don’t.

• Claims process and efficiency: Claims should be straightforward, and when possible, monitored by an app that allows business owners to follow the claim throughout the process. 

How to Choose the Right Provider for Your Needs

You can get the right provider by following a few simple steps: 

• Assess your coverage requirements: Know how much coverage you need. If you don’t know, talk to an insurance agent about what industry standards are so that you are adequately protected. 

• Compare quotes and policies: Shop around to see who offers the best policy for the best price. Ensure you get a company with a reputation for handling claims positively. 

Seek professional advice: Work with a company that serves as a partner and offers professional advice to ensure you are getting the best policy with the right amount of coverage.