Guy Chipman from the Texas Association of REALTORS^® wrote a well-received article entitled “Errors, Omissions, and Lawsuits, Oh My!” on the key lessons he learned while looking for an E&O provider. We will be posting one tip per week from Chipman’s article, with Pearl’s comments in italics. See what Pearl E&O coverage offers.

2. Make sure all your services are covered. If the insurer can’t cover all of the services your company offers—residential, commercial, property management—it’s probably not the right company to meet your E&O needs.

Pearl’s policy covers property managers, appraisers, auctioneers, assistants to agents and business brokers. Beyond covering all aspects of real estate practice, we offers flexibility to ensure that each individual realtor’s individual needs are met. Pearl offers per claim coverage and aggregate limits ranging from $250,000 to $5,000,000, and deductibles from $1,000 to $25,000, or higher. Pearl gives all of our customers’ individualized attention in order to customize a plan that is ideal for their needs and business focus.

Have you ever struggled with an E&O agent unable to meet your needs? How do you pick the right E&O Provider? Let us know by posting a comment below!

Guy Chipman from the Texas Association of REALTORS^® wrote a well-received article entitled “Errors, Omissions, and Lawsuits, Oh My!” on the key lessons he learned while looking for an E&O provider. We will be posting one tip per week from Chipman’s article, with Pearl’s comments in italics. See what Pearl E&O coverage offers.

1. Find a specialized agent. Not every insurance office has an agent who is knowledgeable about this type of insurance. It’s a specialized field, and an agent will need expertise in both real estate and malpractice insurance to quote this coverage effectively.

Pearl agrees that without experience and expertise in Real Estate E&O coverage, an insurer doesn’t have much to offer to a real estate professional. At Pearl, we’ve offered Real Estate E&O for over 30 years, and recently completely reinvigorated our coverage to make it best in class among E&O providers. We added new features like a mold endorsement with higher limits, deductible reduction for early claim resolution, a higher limit open house property damage coverage option, and improved many prior features of our plan.

Have you ever struggled with an E&O agent unable to meet your needs? How do you pick the right E&O Provider? Let us know by posting a comment below!

You’re working harder than ever—shouldn’t your E&O provider do the same?

Pearl Insurance knows you’ve put in the extra effort to remain viable in this industry, and so have we. For the last three decades, we’ve continually innovated Pearl’s E&O coverage to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the real estate market. And we’ve once again made it new and improved!

We’re so excited to announce major enhancements to our Real Estate Errors & Omissions policy, which Pearl insureds will enjoy right away:

• Environmental Failure to Advise up to full policy limits
• Public Relations Advisory Services
• Lockbox coverage to full policy limits
• Consent to Settle
• Mold Endorsement with increased limits—NEW!
• Subpoena Assistance—NEW!
• Free 3-year Extended Reporting Period—NEW!
• Loss Mitigation Credit—NEW!
• Network and Privacy coverage with a $25,000 sublimit—NEW!
• Deductible Reduction for Early Claims Resolution—IMPROVED! Applies to both defense and damages!
• Open House Property Damage coverage—IMPROVED! Up to FULL policy limits!
• Agent-Owned Property Coverage—IMPROVED! No waiting period applies!
• And many more benefits and NEW improvements!

Pearl E&O Insurance: It’s already robust!

Are you on the fence regarding whether or not you need Errors and Omissions Insurance to protect you in your daily real estate business practices? Sometimes, no matter how careful you are to manage your risk in your day-to-day operations, you still get sued because of a forgotten detail or a minor misstep. Here are the Top 5 Reasons you need real estate E&O coverage!

Here’s a helpful post by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS^® (NCAR) Partner Program with a couple testimonials from your real estate professional peers on how Pearl Errors and Omissions Insurance has helped them in their careers.

If you think discrimination in real estate is a thing of the past, you may want to think again. Read this The New York Times article on a real-life case of discrimination that happened recently in two Bronx neighborhoods. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our risk management tips and resources for April – Fair Housing Month. Be sure to remain diligent on managing your risk and avoiding legal issues by following the National Association of REALTORS^® Code of Ethics and having a quality Errors and Omissions Insurance policy in place—like those offered by Pearl Insurance!

Sometimes the past is one of the best learning tools around! Use the following Real-Life Errors & Omissions Claim Situation involving discrimination to avoid a similar legal showdown happening to you in your everyday real estate career. And always have a good Real Estate E&O Insurance policy in place to protect you in case you find yourself in the middle of a discrimination suit.

Listing Agent Withholds Purchase Offer from Seller

A piece of property was listed for sale. An agent from another firm presented Mrs. Jones, a prospective buyer, to the listing agent. After viewing the property, Mrs. Jones requested her agent draw up a contract and make an offer on the home. Later that day, the listing agent brought Mr. Smith, another prospective buyer, to view the property and also secured an offer.

Problem
When the listing agent presented the offer to the seller, he did not present Mrs. Jones’ offer. He only presented Mr. Smith’s offer, which was $20,000 less than Mrs. Jones’ offer.

Mistake
The seller claims that she would have seriously considered Mrs. Jones’ offer, but was advised by her agent to accept the other contract, which was the only contract the seller had seen at the time. The listing agent should have presented both offers to the seller, giving the second one as a back-up offer.

Result
Mrs. Jones sued the listing agent for discrimination stating her offer was not presented to the seller because she was a minority. Mrs. Jones was awarded $30,000 in damages. The listing agent also accrued $13,870 in attorney fees.

Prevention
Whether discrimination is intentional or not, civil action can be taken against you. To protect yourself against any charge or appearance of discrimination, be protected by a good Errors & Omissions insurance policy and be familiar with the constitutional and legislative information such as the Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988, the Civil Rights Act, and the Equal Opportunity Housing code for REALTORS®.

Do you have a similar story involving discrimination to share with us? Send us your learning experience or just let us know what you think about this one! Just leave a reply below!

If you have any questions about Pearl’s Errors & Omissions Insurance for real estate professionals, give us a call at 800.447.4982—whether you’re looking for a new E&O policy or have questions about your current one. We’d love to hear from you!

You can also visit www.pearlinsurance.com/eo to find out more about our quality Errors & Omissions program, including policy features, risk management tools, and much more.

How does your Errors & Omissions Insurance measure up? It is a good idea to regularly evaluate your E&O coverage so there are no surprises down the road. The worst time to find out your coverage is lacking is after you file a claim! Use this Errors & Omissions Highlights Checklist from Pearl Insurance to compare E&O coverage. We’ve recently enhanced our coverage to include several new policy features—check it out!