Insurance for Real Estate Agents

Professional liability insurance for real estate agents is a smart investment because it can protect your business from potential claims and unpredictable risks. Professional liability insurance, sometimes called errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance), is coverage for claims against businesses that provide professional and personal services — for real estate businesses such as yours. 

This is an important type of insurance coverage for real estate professionals to have because of how personal and emotional the process of buying or selling property can be. Large sums of money are at stake in these transactions, and as a real estate agent, you are entrusted with the smooth and fair transfer of property between parties. With Hiscox by your side, you’ll feel confident in each real estate transaction on which you work.

When is it important to have professional liability insurance? Here are a few real-world examples that frequently occur in the business of real estate.

• Buyer’s remorse: After closing a sale of a lakefront property, the new homeowner claims the property doesn’t include the lake frontage. The homeowner brings a claim against you, alleging they overpaid for the home as you misrepresented the true boundaries of the property. Even though this is a groundless claim and a symptom of buyer’s remorse, the buyer sues you and puts your business at risk.

Professional liability insurance can protect your business and we will defend and indemnify you, even if you haven’t made this mistake and the allegations are groundless. Take the guesswork out of what happens in situations such as this by securing yourself with real estate agent liability insurance.  

• Wrongful discrimination: Clients may claim that you did not show them certain homes because of their race, religion, or gender, even if you’ve done nothing of the sort. Whether true or not, these claims could result in lawsuits that put your business at risk and tarnish your reputation.

Claims of discrimination are a common risk that real estate agents face. Having the right professional liability insurance will protect you if a client makes a claim of wrongful discrimination against you. Allegations of discrimination are serious matters and ones that you don’t want to face alone. Empower your business today by requesting a real estate agent insurance quote. 

Learn more about professional liability insurance on our website, or contact us with any questions you have.
 

Since showing properties to potential buyers, hosting open houses, and attending networking events are all common in the real estate business, we also recommend general liability insurance coverage to many of the agents with whom we work. Hiscox offers customized real estate agent insurance to fit your needs; this includes both professional liability coverage and general liability coverage to ensure your small business is protected from risk. 

General liability insurance, sometimes called commercial general liability (CGL), could protect your business from another person or business’s claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and damage to property. 

Although real estate agents often do not anticipate these types of issues arising in the normal course of their business, having general liability insurance coverage is valuable for real estate agents in several instances. Here are a few examples.

• Bodily injury: A potential home buyer that you are meeting with trips and falls over a rug on your office floor and injures herself. Since the injuries were sustained in your office, you could be held liable for the costs of her recovery. 

Even the most seemingly minor slip-and-fall accident can result in substantial medical bills — bills that you could be responsible for paying if the injury occurred in your office. General liability insurance could protect you from third-party claims of bodily injury and associated medical costs. Be prepared for anything that comes your way with real estate agency insurance. 

• Property damage: You are showing a client a home that contains a lot of expensive antiques. During the showing, you knock over an expensive vase which breaks. A general liability policy could cover the cost to replace the vase.

Accidents happen and it’s best to protect your business in advance. Request a real estate agent insurance quote from Hiscox. 

You can also learn more about general liability insurance costs on our website to decide whether this type of policy is beneficial for your business.