The short version
- General liability (GL): someone is hurt or their property is damaged because of your business, or you are accused of defamation or infringement in your advertising.
- Professional liability (E&O): a client says your work, advice, or service was wrong, late, or incomplete and cost them money.
- They do not substitute for each other. Washington's state contracting guidance says plainly that general liability policies exclude professional liability.
- They are usually written differently. GL is usually occurrence-based; E&O is usually claims-made.
- Contracts often require both, with different limits and different rules for adding the client as an insured.
Side by side
| General liability | Professional liability (E&O) | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Bodily injury, property damage, personal and advertising injury | Financial loss from errors, omissions, negligence, or failure to perform professional services |
| Typical claimant | A visitor, customer, or member of the public | A client |
| Typical form | Occurrence | Claims-made |
| Additional insured for clients | Common contract requirement | Often left out; the state contracts we reviewed do not require it |
| Who needs it | Almost every business | Businesses paid for expertise, advice, design, or technical services |
| Coverage page | General liability | Professional liability |
Examples
| What happened | Which policy |
|---|---|
| A client trips over a cable in your office and breaks a wrist | General liability |
| Your crew damages a client's ceiling while installing equipment | General liability |
| Your marketing materials use a photo you did not have the rights to | General liability (personal and advertising injury), unless excluded |
| Your financial model contains an error and the client makes a costly decision | Professional liability |
| Your software implementation runs months late and the client loses revenue | Professional liability (technology E&O) |
| Your design has an error that requires expensive rework | Professional liability |
| Your consulting report gives advice that turns out wrong | Professional liability |
Some claims involve both, such as a design error that causes physical damage. Having both policies, written to work together, reduces the chance those claims fall between them.
Why general liability does not cover professional mistakes
General liability is built for physical harm and specific personal and advertising offenses. A client's financial loss from your advice or work is neither, and general liability policies exclude professional liability. Washington's Department of Enterprise Services says so directly in its contracting guidance, and treats professional liability as a separate, contract-specific coverage, and gives engineers, consultants, counselors, brokers, medical professionals, accountants, investigators, attorneys, and architects as examples of professional services.
What contracts ask for
| Contract | General liability | Professional liability |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho Department of Education solicitation template | $1,000,000 per occurrence ($2,000,000 if defense costs are inside the limits); the state and the department must be additional insureds | $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate; excluded from the additional insured requirement |
| Washington statewide IT contract 14822 | $2,000,000 per occurrence and $4,000,000 aggregate on an occurrence form; the state and purchasers must be additional insureds | Technology E&O of $2,000,000 per occurrence and $4,000,000 aggregate when the purchasing agency requests it; not included in the additional insured requirement |
Paste a contract into our contract insurance checker to see the general and professional liability limits it requires.
Does a business owners policy include professional liability?
A business owners policy bundles property, general liability, and business income. It is built for the same risks as general liability, so most service businesses buy professional liability as a separate policy. Some insurers offer limited professional liability endorsements on a BOP for certain trades.