General liability covers bodily injury and property damage. It does not cover the advice you give, the deadline you miss or the design that does not perform. That is what errors and omissions coverage is for — and in Silicon Valley, clients increasingly require it in the contract.
Consultants, software and IT services firms, marketing agencies, architects and engineers, real estate and insurance professionals, accountants, staffing firms and property managers. Any business paid for expertise can be sued for the financial consequences of that expertise, even when the work was performed competently and the claim ultimately fails.
E&O is almost always written claims-made, meaning the policy in force when the claim is reported responds — not the one in force when the work was done. Your retroactive date is therefore critical: let coverage lapse and you lose protection for years of prior work. When you switch carriers we make sure the retro date carries forward and discuss extended reporting (tail) coverage.
For technology and professional services firms, a breach of client data and a failure of professional services often arise from the same incident. Many carriers now combine tech E&O with cyber liability so there is no argument over which policy responds. We compare the combined forms against standalone policies for your contracts.