Frequently Asked Questions

E&O insurance — also called professional liability insurance — covers defense costs and damages if a client alleges that you made a mistake, omission, or breach of professional duty in the course of providing insurance services. Common claims involve allegations that an agent failed to procure the coverage requested, failed to advise about available coverage, made a material misrepresentation, or made an administrative error such as missing a deadline. E&O does not cover dishonest or intentional acts, criminal acts, or claims under the policies you sold. Specific coverage and exclusions are determined by the policy issued.

Most U.S. insurance carriers require their appointed producers to carry E&O coverage as a condition of appointment. Many states require E&O for specific license types but do not require it across the board. Whether or not it's mandated by your state, operating an insurance agency without E&O exposes your personal and business assets to claims you cannot afford to defend out of pocket — even baseless claims regularly cost five or six figures to defend. Check with your state department of insurance and with each of your carriers for the specific E&O requirements that apply to you.

Coverage limits should be sized to (1) the requirements of your carrier appointments, (2) the size and complexity of the policies you place, and (3) your tolerance for residual risk above the policy limit. Common limit structures are $1M per claim / $1M aggregate for solo or small agencies, scaling up to $5M aggregate or more for larger agencies and those placing complex commercial business. Many carrier appointment agreements specify minimum E&O limits (often $1M per claim); your appointment paperwork will tell you. SmartEO offers limit options from $1M to $5M, subject to carrier appetite and your agency profile. Your quote will show the specific limit options available for you.

Most agency E&O is written on a claims-made basis: the policy covers claims first made against you during the policy period (and reported within the policy's reporting requirements), as long as the alleged act occurred after the policy's retroactive date. Occurrence-based E&O — which would cover any act that occurred during the policy period regardless of when the claim is made — is rare in this market. Practical takeaway: if you let claims-made coverage lapse without an extended reporting period ("tail" coverage), claims that arise later from prior acts may be uninsured even if the alleged act occurred while you had coverage. This is the main reason E&O lapses are dangerous.

Prior acts coverage extends a claims-made policy back in time to cover acts that occurred before the current policy period — typically important when you switch carriers and want continuous protection for past work. Availability, the retroactive date, and any limitations depend on the carrier and on your continuous coverage history. Your quote will show whether prior acts coverage is available and on what terms.

SmartEO is a digital E&O platform — the application, quote, binding, and renewal happen online instead of by phone or paper. The placement itself follows the same path it always has: a licensed producer (Beacon Point Insurance) submits your information to a licensed carrier or wholesaler, and the carrier underwrites and issues the policy. We've concentrated the friction-removal where it helps most: the application and the renewal cycle.

SmartEO is a brand and trade name of Beacon Point Insurance, a licensed independent insurance producer. See our Licensing page for our license numbers, NPN, and contact information.

No. SmartEO and Beacon Point Insurance are not insurance carriers. Coverage placed through SmartEO is issued by licensed insurance carriers. Your quote and policy documents will identify the carrier.

It depends on your agency profile and which carrier's appetite is the best match. The carrier issuing your policy is identified on your quote before you bind and on your declarations page after binding. We work with multiple carriers in the agency E&O market to give us flexibility in placing your coverage.

Most clean applications can be quoted within one business day and bound within 48 hours of receiving a complete application. "Clean" means no significant claims history, current license in good standing, and no unusual underwriting flags. Applications with claims, surplus lines exposure, or other complexity may take longer for the carrier to underwrite.

Approximately 60 days before your policy expires, we send you a renewal notice with a pre-populated application based on your prior-year information. You review changes, update anything that's different (new claims, license changes, agency growth), and we route it to the carrier for renewal pricing. Once you approve the renewal quote and pay any required premium, your replacement policy is placed before your current policy expires. If you don't respond to renewal notices, your coverage will lapse on the expiration date shown on your current declarations page. We will not bind a renewal without your affirmative approval.

Payment options depend on the carrier. Some carriers in the E&O market offer monthly installment plans (often through a premium finance arrangement); others require annual payment. Your quote will show the specific payment options available for your policy.

Missouri and Kansas. See our Licensing page for license numbers and our States page for details about each state's coverage.

We follow the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and applicable state insurance privacy laws. We share your information only with carriers and service providers necessary to quote, bind, and service your policy, and only as permitted by law. We do not sell your information. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Only if you opt in. The optional checkbox on our quote form lets you choose whether to receive autodialed or pre-recorded marketing and servicing calls and texts from us. Servicing communications about an active application or policy may also be sent through standard channels (email and individually-dialed calls) when necessary to provide the service you requested. You can opt out of texts at any time by replying STOP, or by emailing support@smarteo.insure.

Email support@smarteo.insure. We respond to email inquiries within one business day.