Counterpart launches professional liability cover for SMBs

Counterpart, a US insurtech which provides management liability and professional liability insurance for small businesses, has launched a new insurance product to make it easier for brokers to get coverage for small business clients.

The firm’s new Miscellaneous Professional Liability (MPL) insurance safeguards small business owners from losses relating to customer claims, like failure to provide the expected levels of service or negligent actions.

It will offer a type of insurance similar to Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance, which has long been a staple of traditional professions like law or architecture, but will cover a more diverse list of trades ranging from property managers to third-party administrators. The product, backed by Aspen Insurance, is available as a stand-alone policy or can be packaged with other Counterpart offerings, covering small businesses and their executives. It will offer up to US$3mn of cover with limits for private businesses of up to US$10mn in revenue.

It comes as 20% of professional services businesses still report having no MPL insurance in place in case a client alleges non-performance of duties, Counterpart says.

Professional services businesses ‘often left exposed’

Tanner Hackett, CEO of Counterpart, explains: “The US economy has always been driven by small businesses, and technology is making it easier than ever for professionals to strike out on their own. But these businesses often lack the sophisticated compliance infrastructure of larger corporations, leaving them exposed to greater business and personal risk.

“We are passionate about helping small businesses thrive in this complex economic landscape and that means making it easier for companies to understand their exposures and get the coverage they need.”

Matt Price, Head of Finpro Program Operations at Aspen Insurance, continues: “Because MPL is designed to safeguard a variety of business types, the risks can vary dramatically from policy to policy. Counterpart’s MPL product was cleverly designed to leverage sentiment analysis to determine a company’s unique risks. Counterpart’s tailored approach to underwriting opens the doors to many small businesses that might not otherwise opt for this coverage.”