What is the difference between general liability and professional liability?

General liability covers bodily injury and property damage, the physical stuff that happens when a customer trips in your office.

What is professional liability or errors and omissions (E&O) insurance?

Pays when a service provider's mistake causes a client a financial loss. Like malpractice for non-medical professions.

What specialty commercial classes does Philadelphia Insurance cover in Georgia?

Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) is backed by Tokio Marine Group and specializes in industry niches.

What insurance do Lawrenceville healthcare professionals need?

Lawrenceville has a large healthcare and medical professional community concentrated around Gwinnett Medical Center.

What do claims-made limits mean on Georgia professional liability?

A claims-made policy only pays if both the incident and the claim are reported while the policy is active, and it uses a retroactive date; tail coverage extends the reporting window after cancellation.

Professional Liability FAQs

What is tail coverage for Georgia professional liability insurance?

All FAQs

Quick answer: Georgia professional liability (errors and omissions) is always claims-made, meaning the policy must be active both when the error occurred and when the claim is reported.

Tail coverage is an extension to a professional liability policy that keeps the ability to report claims open after the policy itself has ended. The formal name is an extended reporting period, or ERP. Georgia professionals who are retiring, switching insurers, or winding down a practice need to understand how it works before their current policy lapses.

What is tail coverage on a professional liability policy?

Professional liability insurance is almost always written on a claims-made basis. That means the policy must be active on the date a claim is reported, not just on the date the underlying work was performed. Claims-made coverage is standard across consulting, accounting, engineering, real estate, and healthcare, and it creates a specific gap when the policy ends.

Tail coverage closes that gap. It does not cover new work performed after the policy ends. It covers only claims reported during the tail period that arise from work done while the underlying policy was in force.

Why does a claims-made policy create a coverage gap at expiration?

Clients do not always discover problems immediately. A Georgia consultant finishing a project in early 2026 may not hear from that client until 2027, when an error surfaces and the client files a claim. If the consultant retired in mid-2026 without purchasing tail coverage, the expired policy will not respond. The work was covered while the policy was active, but the ability to report that claim is gone.

For example, an Atlanta CPA completes an audit in March 2026 and retires in June 2026. A client discovers a filing error in February 2027 and files a claim. Without tail coverage, the CPA's expired professional liability policy will not pay for defense or any settlement, because the claim was reported after the policy ended.

When do Georgia professionals typically need tail coverage?

Retirement or leaving practice, when no successor policy will be in place to receive future claims
Switching carriers, when the new carrier's retroactive date does not reach back far enough to cover older work
Closing or selling a business, when prior services remain a source of potential claims after operations stop
A policy non-renewal initiated by the insurer, which can leave the same reporting gap

Tail coverage is typically purchased when a policy ends or is cancelled. Most insurers require it within a defined window, often 30 to 60 days after expiration. Waiting past that window can eliminate the option entirely.

How long should a tail period be for a Georgia professional?

The length of the tail period varies: common options run one year, three years, or an unlimited period. The cost is typically calculated as a percentage of the expiring annual premium. The right tail period depends on the nature of the work, the applicable statute of limitations in Georgia, and the expiring premium.

For example, a Georgia engineer whose projects carry a 10-year statutory discovery window may need a longer tail period than a business consultant whose disputes typically surface within two years of project completion. A licensed advisor can assess those factors and match the tail length to the actual exposure.

Is a prior-acts endorsement an alternative to standalone tail coverage?

A prior-acts endorsement on a new policy may cover claims arising from past work if the new carrier agrees to extend coverage backward. This can sometimes replace a standalone tail, but it depends on whether the new carrier will accept the prior-acts terms and what the underwriting review reveals about the work history. The two approaches protect the same exposure through different mechanisms, and the right choice depends on cost, carrier appetite, and how far back coverage needs to reach.

A free coverage review with our team can confirm how past work stays protected and whether a tail is the right structure before your current policy ends.