Real estate appraiser errors and omissions insurance (also referred to as professional liability) provides legal protection should your appraisal services lead to lawsuits due to errors made in their valuation services, be they valuation oversights or miscalculations that lead to someone losing money on sale transactions. Such lawsuits can cost real estate appraisers big.
Appraisers add value to properties by conducting thorough inspections, researching local market trends and compiling data on each property they assess. Even the most meticulous real estate appraiser may make mistakes that have an economic implication for clients, making errors and omissions insurance for real estate appraisers essential.
Errors and omissions insurance for real estate is commonly known as E & O or malpractice coverage, providing cover against legal fees, settlement costs or judgments awarded against you due to mistakes in appraisal reports. Real estate brokers frequently require appraisers to carry this form of coverage.
Real estate appraisers need an errors and omissions policy that provides all of the coverage they require without overpaying for it. A good policy includes features like loss of earnings coverage, trainee coverage and subpoena assistance; additionally, such an E and O policy for appraisers may provide protection from bodily injury or property damage to third parties.
Real estate appraisers’ E and O policies typically cover errors and omissions as well as any criminal acts such as theft, embezzlement or forgery; some also cover computer virus/data breach damages as part of this section.
When faced with state disciplinary proceedings, appraisers may worry about how it will impact their E and O policy. Particularly if found guilty of serious violations to USPAP, many appraisers fear their insurer might raise premiums or refuse renewal of the policy.
However, this isn’t always the case; in most states’ disciplinary cases against real estate appraisers are resolved through mediation without being used as grounds to raise premiums or cancel policies.
Contact Victor today to gain more insight into our real estate appraiser errors and omissions policies, or to explore industry insights, claims scenarios, or risk mitigation resources that will assist with managing risks with confidence. Our team of experts are more than willing to share industry knowledge, claim scenarios, or any other resources needed for an easy experience navigating risks with Victor. Our comprehensive E and O insurance program for individual real estate appraisers is tailored to provide modern, flexible insurance protection that you can easily quote, bind and issue online 24 hours a day. We specialize in offering coverage to individuals who appraise single-family residences, multi-family residences, vacant land lots and lots, commercial/industrial property as well as farms/ranches/subdivisions/farmettes etc. Our program is competitively priced and tailored specifically to the needs of real estate appraisers.