Why It Matters Where You Buy E&O Insurance Online

Quality

“Can I buy quality E&O insurance online?” That is a great question many financial professionals are asking themselves today. With insurance as important as professional liability, the last thing they want is a policy that leaves them unprotected when they need it most. They also don’t want to buy coverage that is confusing, hard to shop for, or too expensive.

To this end, online E&O insurance providers such as EOforLess.com have developed technology platforms that . . .

• simplify the process of buying E&O,
• allow low-risk financial professionals to buy it affordably, and
• assure that all insurers and administrators involved in the program meet quality standards.

But the question is, which online E&O provider can be trusted to deliver?

The key is to carefully inspect every aspect of the firm’s online shopping platform to make sure it provides:

• extensive coverage options,
• ease of use, and
• adequate post-sale support.

Visitors to EOforLess.com will quickly notice that it’s extremely easy to select the right policy, apply for coverage, and pay for it online. Within minutes, financial professionals can bind and print their E&O insurance in order to secure appointments with sales intermediaries and/or insurance carriers.

Solving the quality issue starts with selecting an appropriate policy type for a financial professional’s needs. At EOforLess.com, coverage is available for life & health agents, P&C agents, registered investment advisor representatives (RIAs), and real estate brokers & owners. For each business type, buyers can click through to evaluate different levels of coverage corresponding to their business model and regulatory license.

For example, life and health agents who manage a “vanilla” life practice—i.e., selling only life, accident, health insurance, and long-term care products—can select base-level coverage. However, those who sell all the above products plus fixed and indexed annuities can select a higher-level coverage.  Finally, those who sell all the above products, as well as variable life, variable annuities, and mutual funds, can select top-tier coverage. As they climb up the coverage “ladder,” the operating risks of that business model increase, which means the buyer’s E&O premium will rise accordingly.

For each business model/license type, EOforLess.com provides an informative coverage summary, along with a complete specimen policy via download. After reviewing the summary and specimen policy, E&O insurance purchasers will know exactly what they bought . . . and will have the confidence of knowing they will be protected should a client sue them.

Quality also manifests itself in how easy it is to buy E&O insurance online at EOforLess.com. Once they’ve picked the right coverage, financial professionals simply click the “Buy Now” button. This takes them to an easy, two-step purchase process:

1. Enroll in the National Ethics Association (sponsor of EOforLess.com). This involves providing some basic information and submitting billing and payment option details for the membership.
2. Apply for E&O coverage from EOforLess.com. This involves providing information about their business, as well as answering a short list of risk-assessment questions. If the agent qualifies, they simply purchase the policy they’ve selected and bind their protection.

Agents also have the ability to print a proof-of-coverage document immediately in order to show marketing intermediaries or insurance/investment firms that they have adequate E&O insurance protection.

Another quality indicator is the degree to which E&O buyers must shoulder a portion of their claim costs. At EOforLess.com, life and health agents will never pay for deductibles or for any other hidden fee.

At the end of the day, when they deal with EOforLess.com, life/health insurance agents, P&C agents, investment advisors, and real estate professionals will know they purchased quality E&O insurance for an affordable price, with minimal effort, in five minutes or less. What’s not to like about buying E&O insurance online?

Reliable

A quality E&O shopping experience doesn’t just involve being able to select the right coverage and to buy it easily and quickly online. It also involves having reliable post-sale support in the event financial professionals have a problem with billing or find themselves facing a client complaint and/or litigation.

In short, financial professionals have many different ways to buy E&O insurance online. But not all shopping platforms are created equal. To assure that they purchase the right coverage at an affordable price and that they get post-sale support, they should only deal with firms that have extensive experience, a commitment to provide an easy and convenient buying experience, and administrator and insurance carrier relationships that securely backstop the program. EOforLess.com succeeds on all these counts . . . and more.