Insurance clarified

In the insurance story in “Building God’s House” in the Nov. 4  issue of The Alabama Baptist, there is an error that should be pointed out. Under the heading of “Errors and Omissions Insurance,” the author mentions that professional liability covers exposures, which are primarily property damage as opposed to bodily injury. That’s the part that’s incorrect.

Errors and Omissions (usually interchangeable with Professional Liability) covers exposures where the occurrence does not directly cause bodily injury or property damage. Most E&O forms I’ve seen exclude those, in fact.

E&O covers such things as a lawyer missing a court case, costing his clients a judgment or a pastor giving advice in a marriage situation where divorce results and the unhappy spouse is upset over the outcome.

Doctors who fail to diagnose an illness they should have found face similar problems. A mortgage broker might sign contracts for an interest rate lower than he can deliver at closing.

Even an employer might fail to add a new employee to their group insurance in a timely manner, where the employee later gets sick and cannot obtain the coverage.

In all these cases, the action or inaction results in loss to someone,  but does not cause injury or damage itself.

Robert G. Cleveland

Pelham, Ala.