Discussion:Accountants Professional Liability Insurance
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Discussion Forum Index --> Business Growth Community --> Accountants Professional Liability Insurance
| 23 May 2006 | |
| Just wanted to get some thoughts on this. Does anyone know of a reputable E&O insurance company for accountants? Has anyone heard of Philadelphia Insurance Companies? They seem to have a very competitive quote, starting anywhere from $300-600, which is half of my other quote from State Farm. | |
| 23 May 2006 | |
| I'm with Western Surety/CNA maybe now...and it's in that $300 per year range, for tax only, tho'. | |
| 23 May 2006 | |
| If you're a CPA, get a quote from www.cpai.com (Aon Insurance Agency for CNA). For a small CPA firm, premiums run around $180 per annum. If you're an EA, I believe, the premiums are even lower. | |
| May 24, 2006 | |
| It's hard comparing premiums without knowing a few other facts -- amount of coverage, deductible, types of services covered, exclusions. Even if you are not a CPA, the cpai.com website has some good information. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| JR1 & Arch, are the $180/$300 annual fees for a bond or an insurance policy? What are deductibles and coverage limits? I'm paying many times that amount and I have price shopped before and never received a quote anywhere near that range. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| It's an Accountant's Professional Liability policy. When I started out, the limits of liability were $100,000 per claim ($250,000 aggregate), with a deductible of $1,000. The policy covered prior acts, and the annual premium was $300. Since then, I've upgraded my policy (because I deal with clients with deep pockets), and the annual premium is very reasonable. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| My current policy is $500,000 per claim with a deductible of $5,000 and my premium is $2,668. I price shopped and haven't found anything cheaper. A CPA friend of mine with about 1/3 the fees that I have is paying around $2,200 so the amount of fees is not a huge factor. I do a few financial statements but no audits so I suppose the financial statements could be a major factor. Also I'm in California and I wonder if part of the problem is that California has very liberal laws when it come to filing lawsuits. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| Warren.
Whoa! Your premiums sound too steep. Beginning this year, I've the same limits as you have, and my premiums are about 1/4th. Get an online quote from www.cpai.com and see if you can save. I'm in WA and am not sure if practising in CA makes that much difference in terms of premiums. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| Warren,
I forgot to add this to my reply. I don't do audits either. I do a lot of write-up work and a few compilations and reviews. | |
Mtmckeecpa (talk|edits) said: | 24 May 2006 |
| I have coverage through Continetal Casualty, annual premium is $990. $1,000 deductible, $1 mil per claim, $2 mil aggregate. | |
| 24 May 2006 | |
| ArchCPA thanks for the info but it didn't help me. I went online and got a quote from them and it was $2,875 which is about $200 higher than I'm paying now. It must be the California location. | |
| May 24, 2006 | |
| Warren, have you asked your insurance agent why the premium is high? Or have you worked with a risk manager? I really struggled with my renewal this year because I didn't know how to classify some of my services. I learned that if you are making management decisions, that places you in a higher risk category. Location also probably plays a role. Client mix can affect the premium, too. Last year when I tried to get a quote from another company, they wouldn't even consider covering me because 55% of my revenue came from one client. (It's lower this year.) | |
| 25 May 2006 | |
| I don't make management decisions and we don't have check signing authority over any client funds. After the discussion here and talking to other accountants locally, I really think it is a location thing. I've been with the same company since 1988 and the premium is actually considerably cheaper now than it was in 1988 although my client fees have increased during that time. | |
| 29 June 2006 | |
| I just bound with Hartford/Arrowhead. They just came out with a new program. (Arrowheadpro.com) looks pretty good. | |
| 29 June 2006 | |
| I go through Herbert H Landy Insurance Agency, but the policy is underwritten by General Star. They were much less than State Farm, but State Farm said is was because Gen'l Star was giving me a renewal discount. Anyway, check out Landy at:
800-336-5422 www.Landy.com info@landy.com | |
| 30 June 2006 | |
| Also in CA and paying over $3000 with Aon with limits similar to Warren. Higher annual billings have an effect on the rates. If you are only billing under $100,000 rates are alot lower than over $1,000,000. More partners also effect the rates. | |
| June 26, 2009 | |
| When I got a quote from Landy, it was much higher than Aon. I renewed with Aon. | |
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