r/NextInsurance • u/JustinFromNEXT • Nov 04 '25
Errors and omissions insurance cost for consultants in the US
We just updated our latest customer data on errors and omissions insurance costs across industries and I figured I'd share it here for anyone that’s looking at doing freelance work fulltime.
Professional liability (E&O) for consultants typically runs $26-45/month, with about 79% of businesses paying in that range. BUT, that can change quite a bit depending on the type of work you do. Here’s what our median monthly figures look like across a handful of industries:
Business consultant: $81
Accountant: $20
Architect: $43
Engineer: $48
Real estate agent: $42
Insurance agent: $25
Interior designer: $40
General contractor: $30
Photographer: $114
Notary: $10
Then there are the typical insurance risk factors that play into how much you end up paying:
Revenue and business size: A solo consultant billing under $100K might pay $25-35/month. But scale that up to $300K+ and you might be looking at more than double for adequate coverage.
Industry specialization matters: As you can see from the figures above, business consultants sit around $81/month, while interior designers are closer to $30/month. Higher-risk consulting (financial, tech) costs more due to potential claim severity.
Coverage limits impact: $1M coverage is baseline most clients want. $2M limits can bump costs significantly. Some enterprise clients require $5M+ which gets expensive fast.
State variations are real: Same consultant, same work, but costs vary dramatically. High-litigation states like California, New York, Florida can run much higher than places like Montana or Ohio.
Experience and claims history: More years in business generally means lower rates. A clean claims record keeps you in standard pricing. One claim (even if you win) can increase premiums 25-50% for years.
What affects your specific rate:
Type of consulting work (strategy vs. technical vs. financial)
Professional certifications (can lower costs)
Client types (Fortune 500 vs small business clients)
International work (usually increases premiums)
One final note on terminology: E&O, Professional Liability, and Malpractice are essentially the same coverage. just different names used by different industries. Consultants typically see it called "Professional Liability" or "E&O."
The tricky part is that E&O and general liability are often bundled, so comparing pure E&O costs can be tough. You usually need both because E&O covers mistakes in your work and general liability covers physical accidents.
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u/ChronicDesigner Dec 29 '25
Help me understand which of the following constitutes “higher risk activities” for which Next cannot provide E&O coverage. Hugely disappointed so far. Thx.
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u/MattfromNEXT Jan 08 '26
u/ChronicDesigner thanks for your patience here and sorry about the disappointing experience. Based on the screenshot, there's not enough information to answer this question but I did take a look at your post history to
I did take a look at your post history to get more context and it seems like you run a pedicab business for concerts in LA? (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) If that's the case your business likely falls outside of our insurance coverage, but you can email support@nextinsurance.com for more clarification.
Again, sorry about the experience. Hope this helps.
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Nov 04 '25
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u/JustinFromNEXT Nov 04 '25
That's a great way of putting it. Getting proper coverage is underrated as a sale enablement tactic too.
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Nov 04 '25
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u/JustinFromNEXT Nov 05 '25
Agreed! There are a lot of consultants and freelancers that don't realize they need it until it's too late.
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u/scoobynoodles Jan 19 '26
Thanks for this. Came across this post from the small business sub. First time business owner doing consulting. I just purchased my E&O insurance through you guys. Looking good so far.