Welcome to the New RealTown! Submit Feedback
Member Login | Join RealTown
The Real Estate Network
RealTown  Community  RealTalk  Contact Management  E&O Insurance

RealTown's RealTalk

Back

Bookmark and Share  

Create New Discussion Digest Archive

 E&O Insurance

Created by:
Jack Harper, Licensed Real Estate Broker,  CA

Date: June 20, 2008, Number of Replies: 11


View Profile

Hi All,

I am just now striking out on my own and have a need to obtain Errors and Omissions insurance for my (so far) small company.

Do you have experience in selecting E&O for your brokerage? What should I look for? Where are the best providers? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Jack

To Top Quote   Reply
Lindy Hall Licensed Real Estate Agent,  Houston,  TX

Date: June 20, 2008

Hi Jack.... we just had a thread on E&O.... you were prolly busy with your new endeavor.... rather than wait for responses to ur question, you might just check recent threads.... seems like most use local companies....

Best wishes on breaking out....
(and then you wish you'd done it sooner....)
Lindy in Houston

To Top Quote   Reply
Linda Marquis Licensed Real Estate Broker,  Clyde,  NC

Date: June 21, 2008

am just now striking out on my own and have a need to obtain Errors and Omissions insurance for my (so far) small company.

Do you have experience in selecting E&O for your brokerage? What should I look for? Where are the best providers? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Jack

I have had Pearl Insurance for about 7-8 years and this year decided to shop it. When I called them first before I had made the decision, I asked them to increase my deductible in order to lower the premium. (After all, the deductible does come out of my pocket!) I was surprised (but shouldn't have been should I have read the policy coverage better) that it covers me only if I stay with them. There's a term for this (incidental???) but at any rate, I wasn't thrilled to think that all the years of paying them that should a client show up out of the blue with some sort of claim, I'm not covered. I am a one person office and so for now, I"m just going to put my business in an LLC and hope that it provides enough protection between my personal assets and business assets. I'm not sure how wise of a decision this is but quite frankly, I'm tired of giving money to an insurance company that holds me hostage.

Linda

To Top Quote   Reply
Lindy Hall Licensed Real Estate Agent,  Houston,  TX

Date: June 21, 2008

Linda Marquis... eeyew.... you sure dropped a bomb there!
I never gave the E&O that much thought, but what you said is a real shocker.
So all those premiums we've paid, like out of our closing proceeds, for each
deal... and now it seems that if we aren't STILL insured by them, then we aren't
covered.... OMG....  so when an agent switches companies, they are now unprotected
even though they paid.... Wow.

I understand you said that was the prodecure with Pearl Ins.,
and I do hope some other RealTalkers will have info for the other E&O companies.

Lindy in Houston

To Top Quote   Reply
reneesommer@comcast.net

Date: June 22, 2008

 

I understand you said that was the procedure with Pearl Ins.,
and I do hope some other RealTalkers will have info for the other E&O companies.

I have CNA. There are several other companies out there, NAR has some providers I believe on their web site.

What you are talking about regarding the E&O is a claims made policy. I believe all of them are claims made, without tail coverage. As I understand it, that means that if you sell a house in 2005 but the claim is made in 2006 and you have insurance with a different company in 2007, the 2007 company does not cover you because you don't have "tail coverage" for prior acts, that is prior to them covering you. So, if you change companies every year price shopping, you probably don't have very significant coverage since most claims probably aren't made in the year of the sale.

I.E. you sell a house in January 2008, the buyers file a claim in July 2008, you are covered, however, you have a cap, so say you sell 5 $250K houses and have coverage of $500K, three receive an award of $250 you are not covered for the extra $250K. Also, some of your legal fees may or may not be covered and most policies do not cover properties that you personally own all or an interest in.

These are probably rough explanations as I understand them from my insurance agent. You may want to ask your insurance agent to explain it to you better. From a conversation I had with a physician, he indicated that medical malpractice was somewhat the same, and I believe most professional policies are versions of this.

Renee Sommer, e-PRO

Member NRBA and REOMac

Broker-Owner COUNTY LINE REALTY

217 454 2327

FAX 668 2252

To Top Quote   Reply
freds@sempre.com

Date: June 22, 2008

 

>>Lindy in Houston wrote in part:
>>I never gave the E&O that much thought, but what you said is a real shocker. So all those premiums we've paid, like out of our closing proceeds, for each deal... and now it seems that if we aren't STILL insured by them, then we aren't covered.... OMG.... so when an agent switches companies, they are now unprotected even though they paid.... Wow.<<
 

In my experience, E&O policies are written on a "claims-made" basis. One must have coverage when the claim is made and that policy's prior acts (or retroactive) date must include the date on which the act occurred for which act the claim is made.
 

When E&O insurers are changed, it's important to have the prior acts date be as far back as possible and I've found that date to be negotiable, depending upon specific facts and circumstances.
 

Red flags for agents are, among others, brokerages that go out of business, brokerages that are acquired, E&O insurance that is interrupted and licensees that change broker affiliation.
 

Fred
fsalzer@sempre.com
Poway, CA

To Top Quote   Reply
SarahRummage@comcast.net Licensed Real Estate Broker

Date: June 22, 2008

 

My understanding from our recent ethics class is that the company which is covering you when you are sued is the one who pays. NOT the company who was insuring you when the 'act' occurred. So if you are ever in real estate, you should forever keep E & O insurance, I guess.

Sarah Rummage
American Realty Resources
Nashville TN

Linda Marquis... eeyew.... you sure dropped a bomb there!
I never gave the E&O that much thought, but what you said is a real shocker.
So all those premiums we've paid, like out of our closing proceeds, for each
deal... and now it seems that if we aren't STILL insured by them, then we aren't
covered.... OMG.... so when an agent switches companies, they are now unprotected
even though they paid.... Wow.

I understand you said that was the prodecure with Pearl Ins.,
and I do hope some other RealTalkers will have info for the other E&O companies.

Lindy in Houston

To Top Quote   Reply

Date: June 23, 2008

June 21, 2008 1:03 PM


I do not know how it would go with you, but all they did was take my money. They say you can cancel at any time, but you have to cancel by email only and with a 30 day notice. That way they take your money another month, after you find out you are not happy with them. The salespeople lie to you to get you in and then they switch everything on you. I was told I could have 3 free featured listings for 1 month, they charge me and said that the salesperson could not have told me that because they don't have that authority, instead they said it was just for free setup. I suggest proceed at your own risk, I feel I was duped by them. I feel that they baited me and switched the product on me. I will never use them again, that was my experience maybe yours could be better. Just be careful!!!

Yea the small print wins over again. I moved without knowing this and it is a shocker...

To Top Quote   Reply
Singletary Snyder Licensed Real Estate Broker,  Dripping Springs,  TX

Date: April 1

So what companies provide E & O?? Any phone numbers or websites??

I find that all REO companies insist on E&O in order to sign up.

Thanks Tary

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Singletary (Tary) H. Snyder, e-Pro
Broker, Texas Lone Star Realty
1015 North Sunset Canyon Drive
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
Off/Vm:(512)892-6800 Fax:(512)288-5595 Mob:(512)751-6360
mailto:tsnyder@snyderhomes.com
Alternate mailto:tsnyderus@yahoo.com
Homepage:<http://www.snyderhomes.com>
NAR (National Association of Realtors) "2006 Good Neighbor Honorable Mention"
Volunteers Needed:http://www.snyderhomes.com/DisasterResponse/

To Top Quote   Reply
Chris Stevens,  League City,  TX

Date: April 29

Jack,

What did you come up with? Who did you go with?

To Top Quote   Reply

Reply to Discussion:





  • Go e-PRO
  • Listing Domains
  • Market Leader
  • Point2
  • Top Producer
  • Matthew Ferrara
  • T-ReX Global
  • Realtor Benefits
  • WebsTarget
  • MyOnlineNeighborhood
  • InternetCrusade.com
  • REALTOR Benefits Program
  • RIS Media
  • Agent's First Choice
  • Inman Connect
  • Allison James