Real Estate Agent & Realtor Insurance: Cost & Quotes

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Real estate has its own set of risks. Clients can sue you, employees can get hurt while inspecting a property, and business property can get lost or damaged. Consider getting realtor and real estate agent insurance. In this discussion, you will learn:

• The functions of errors and omissions insurance for real estate agents

• Other policies you need aside from errors and omissions insurance

• How much you’ll pay for premiums

• Which companies provide the best real estate agent and realtor insurance

E&O Insurance for Realtors And Real Estate Agents

Limits Of Real Estate Agent And Realtor Errors and Omissions Insurance 

As a real estate agent, you sell or appraise real property, facilitate negotiations, and provide accurate pricing of different properties for the benefit of many clients. 

Clients can file a claim if they experience issues because of your services. This is why it’s very important to get e&o insurance for realtors and real estate agents

E&O insurance for realtors and real estate agents grants protection when a client holds your services liable for his or her losses. Here are some example situations where you’ll find this insurance useful:

• A client filed a claim and accused you of getting a commission more than what was agreed upon

• A buyer filed a claim and cited that you didn’t disclose that the property has high levels of asbestos

• You inflated the cost of the property to get higher commissions

• You lost the important documents of a client, and this created problems in the sale of the property 

• You disclosed the important information of a client to a third party without prior consent 

Also called professional liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance, e and o insurance for realtors and real estate agents is designed to cover these costs everytime a claim for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of fair dealing, inaccurate advice, and other related offenses is filed:

• Settlements

• Public relations expenses

• Defense costs such as attorney fees, court filing fees, and others

• Court judgments

E&O insurance for real estate agents and realtors might be required by law, depending on where you practice. Consider getting this insurance because it will help with your reputation, revenues, and peace of mind. 

General Liability Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors

Limits Of General Liability Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Accidents can happen in your office. This is why you must also get general liability insurance aside from errors and omissions insurance. 

General liability insurance for realtors and real estate agents kicks in when a claim for bodily injuries or property damage is filed by clients, independent contractors, businesses, and other third parties. Some situations where you’ll find this insurance useful are when:

• An independent contractor is repairing the fixtures of your office. He falls from the ladder and sustains injuries

• The client was inside your office and lost his phone. He demands you refund his loss

• A representative of another company visited your office to deliver something. He slipped and fell on a wet floor

• You and a client were touring a property. He tripped over something and sustained bruises

• You damaged a furniture while showing the client’s house to a prospective buyer 

In connection, general liability insurance for real estate agents and businesses takes care of these costs each time a claim is filed:

Medical Treatments

General liability insurance allows you to cover the medical treatment of a third party who sustained injuries because of your fault.

Refunds for Property Damage

You can use general liability insurance to get the funds needed to refund the property of the client that got lost or damaged because of your fault. 

Settlements

Realtor liability insurance provides the funds you can use as a settlement for a third party’s loss, pain, or suffering.

Defense Costs

General liability is a type of real estate business insurance that helps with lawsuits. It takes care of attorney fees, court filing fees, investigation fees, and other related expenses on your behalf. 

Other Risks General Liability Insurance for Realtors And Real Estate Agents Covers

General liability is very comprehensive. And so, it will also protect you against these exposures:

Liability Over Rented Premises

General liability insurance comes with rented premises liability coverage. This allows you to indemnify the losses of the landlord in case a space you’re renting is damaged by fire. 

Advertising Injury And Defamation

Advertising injury coverage is included in the language of general liability insurance. The policy will help cover settlements and defense costs if you’re liable for copyright infringement, slander, or libel. 

Liability Over Products And Completed Operations

General liability insurance comes with products and completed operations coverage. This takes care of your responsibility over finished transactions. A situation where you’ll find this useful is when a buyer sustains injuries or property damage because of his new house and blames you for it.

Commercial Auto Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Limits Of Commercial Auto Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Realtors and real estate agents are constantly on the go. It's bliss to have a personal car. While you might be thinking of only using personal car insurance, we suggest you switch to commercial auto insurance for a more comprehensive protection. 

Commercial auto insurance provides coverage for all the time you use your vehicle to meet clients, take them to properties, and deliver documents to the office. Typically, this insurance will have the following:

Auto Liability Coverage

Commercial auto insurance has auto liability coverage. And so, the policy can cover these costs if you cause an accident while driving to meet a client or inspect a real property with clients:

• Medical treatment of the injured parties

• Reimbursement for the damaged properties of third parties 

• Settlements

• Defense costs if the victims of the accident decide to sue

• Court judgments

Note that auto liability coverage doesn’t cover instances of vehicular accidents caused by reckless driving, DUI, and other criminal activities. 

Physical Damage Coverage

Commercial auto insurance comes with physical damage coverage. It will help you cover the cost of vehicle maintenance. We can further classify physical damage coverage as collision or comprehensive. 

Collision physical damage coverage means that commercial auto insurance will cover repair or replacement expenses if your commercial vehicle got damaged in a vehicular accident. 

The comprehensive physical damage coverage of commercial auto insurance takes care of costs if fire, theft, vandalism, weather, and other covered perils damaged your commercial vehicle. 

Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage are also included in the commercial auto insurance for realtors and real estate agents. 

These will cover your medical expenses in case an accident happens, and the driver who caused it isn’t insured or doesn’t have enough auto liability insurance. 

Rental Reimbursement Coverage

You can add rental reimbursement coverage to commercial auto insurance. By having this, the policy will reimburse your fair or vehicle rental expenses while your own auto is out of commission and is being repaired. 

Commercial Property Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Limits Of Commercial Property Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Your office and its contents are valuable. You spent a lot on such properties. This is why just like real estate investors, you also need commercial property insurance. 

Commercial property insurance will cover your office. This insurance will grant reimbursement for financial losses, so that you can cover your real estate office’s repair or reconstruction. Coverage applies when the office gets damaged or destroyed by:

• Fire

• Theft 

• Vandalism

• Riot

• Civil commotion

• Malicious mischief

• Impact

• Vehicle

• Aircraft

• Volcanic action

• Sinkhole collapse

• Rain

• Winds

• Snow 

• Hail

• Lightning

Most insurance companies allow the policy to cover a condo office, a home office, and a dedicated commercial building you own, rent, or lease. Others are less forgiving and only insure an office you own. 

The coverage of commercial property insurance also applies to your office’s contents, such as papers, cash, printed files and documents, furniture, fixtures, interior installations, etc. 

Remember that commercial property insurance has exclusions, and it can’t give a helping hand if something happens to your office because of floods, earthquakes, landslides, or mudslides. Consider adding riders or endorsements to cover these exposures. 

Workers Compensation Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

Workers' compensation insurance is handy if you’re working with full-time or part-time associates. 

You must provide compensation if an employee sustains an injury while meeting a client, inspecting a real property, or showing a client around. Workers' compensation insurance assumes this responsibility on your behalf. 

Each time an employee of your real estate agency sustains a work-related injury, workers' compensation insurance takes care of these costs:

Medical Treatment

Your real estate agency can use workers' compensation insurance to cover first aid treatment and emergency medical care for an employee who sustained an occupational injury.

Hospitalization

Workers' compensation insurance is designed to cover fees for room, nursing, food, and other bills if your employee, who sustained a work-related injury, needs to stay in the hospital. 

Medication

Carriers allow your real estate agency to use workers' compensation insurance so that an injured employee can buy the needed medicines. 

Rehabilitation

Workers' compensation insurance can provide funds if an employee needs rehabilitative care to fully recover from an occupational disease and resume his or her duties.

Lost Wages

Your real estate agency can use workers' compensation insurance to cover the lost wages of an employee who sustained an occupational injury. The policy provides a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage.

Death Benefits

If your employee dies because of an occupational injury, workers' compensation insurance will take care of funeral expenses and provide an allowance to dependents. 

Workers' compensation insurance can also help if your employee sustained an occupational disease. However, you must provide solid proof that such is the case. 

Note that workers comp only covers full-time and part-time employees. Independent contractors, volunteers, and interns aren’t automatically named as insureds in the terms of the policy. Nonetheless, you can provide coverage to these entities by listing them as additional insureds. 

Employer’s Liability Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors

Limits Of Employer’s Liability Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors

Employer’s liability insurance is commonly offered as part of workers' compensation insurance. This will take care of settlements, defense costs, and compensation for punitive damages if an employee sues you for negligence after sustaining a work-related injury or disease. 

Cyber Liability Insurance for Real Estate Agents And Realtors 

If you collect data such as addresses and financial information in order to find the best properties for clients, then cyber liability insurance is absolutely helpful. 

Cyber liability insurance provides protection when an employee error, cybersecurity issue, or cyberattack results in the leakage of clients’ confidential information. This policy takes care of these costs:

• Defense costs

• Investigation expenses

• Data recovery expenses

• Credit and identity monitoring expenses 

• Public relations expenses for informing affected clients

• Cost of professional services for containing the breach

• Business income loss

Cyber liability insurance has a $250,000-$2 million coverage limit. Some insurance companies allow you to get up to $10 million coverage from this insurance. 

Realtor And Real Estate Agent Insurance Requirements

Realtor and real estate agent insurance requirements vary per state and will highly depend on the licensing body that oversees your practices. Consider getting $1 million-$2 million errors and omissions insurance, so that you don’t fall short. General liability insurance might not be required. But still, purchase the policy and get at least $1 million coverage. 

Realtor And Real Estate Agent Insurance Cost

The cost of a $1 million general liability insurance for real estate agents is $39 per month or $468 per year. Many factors affect the realtor and real estate agent insurance cost, and your rates can be exactly the same or a bit different from the estimate we provided.

Significant factors that affect real estate and realtor insurance cost are revenues, number of associates, claims history, business history, and location. Which insurance company you work with also matters. And so, here’s a table showing the rates of the recommended carriers:

You get the best picture of real estate agent, realtor, and real estate broker insurance cost by comparing quotes. Compare the pricing of carriers by clicking the “Get Quotes” button on this page.

Error And Omissions Insurance Cost for Real Estate Agents And Realtors

The cost of E&O insurance for realtors and real estate agents is $50 per month or 600 per year. Many factors affect pricing, such as claims history, revenues, business history, location, and more. In connection, here’s a table showing the error and omissions insurance cost for real estate agents and realtors as charged by the recommended carriers:

While premiums might be expensive, you can get cheap e&o insurance for real estate agents and realtors by:

• Having clients sign off deliverables

• Paying higher deductibles

• Bundling policies

• Keeping up-to-date with certifications and trainings