Professional Services Insurance
Business Insurance For CPA Firms And Law Firms
Most accounting and law firms assume they’re covered until a claim proves otherwise. Retroactive dates, exclusions and gaps between policies can leave a firm exposed at exactly the wrong moment.
Marshall+Sterling provides specialized professional services insurance through our Tactical Risk Solutions for Business, helping CPA firms and law firms predict, prepare for and preempt risk.
Trust and Differentiation
Specialized Accounting and Legal Expertise
We work with CPA firms and law firms whose biggest risk is their own advice, decisions and client data, and we structure coverage around that reality.
Education First, Year-Round
We translate complex policy language into clear guidance and stay engaged between renewals, not just at them.
Why Independence Matters
As an independent, employee-owned broker, we’re not tied to a single carrier. Your firm works with a dedicated Marshall+Sterling team that knows your coverage and stays with you year-round.
Who We Serve
Every firm’s exposure depends on its size, practice areas and the data it holds.
- CPA and accounting firms of all sizes
- Tax, audit, advisory and bookkeeping practices
- Law firms of all sizes, from solo practitioners to large firms
- Firms across all practice areas
- Boutique and specialty practices
- Firms handling sensitive financial, legal or personal client data
Professional Services Coverage Options
Programs are tailored to firm size, practice areas, claims history and retroactive coverage needs. Solutions may include:
- Professional liability (accountants E&O, lawyers professional liability)
- Cyber liability (data breach, ransomware, client data exposure)
- Crime and fidelity (wire fraud, social engineering, employee theft)
- Employment practices liability
- Management liability and directors and officers (D&O) for accounting and law firms
- Business owners policy (property and general liability)
- Business auto policy
- Workers’ compensation
- Umbrella and excess liability
Insurance Considerations by Firm Type
CPA and Accounting Firms
Tax, audit and advisory work carry different liability profiles, and firms hold sensitive financial and personal client data that requires protection.
Law Firms
Practice area mix, trust account handling and claims-made structure drive pricing and coverage. Real estate, estate planning and litigation practices often carry distinct exposures.
Growing and Merging Firms
Adding attorneys or partners, lateral hires and mergers raise prior acts, retroactive date and tail coverage questions that need to be resolved before the transition, not after.
Understanding Today’s Risk Environment
Wire Fraud and Social Engineering
Fraudulent payment instructions can target closings, settlements and client disbursements. Professional liability policies may not respond to these losses, so it’s worth reviewing how crime and cyber coverage fit together.
Cyber and Client Data Exposure
Ransomware and data breaches can halt operations and trigger notification duties, regulatory scrutiny and client claims.
Other Firm Liabilities
Employee theft, employment practices claims and coverage gaps from claims-made policy structure round out the exposures firms most often underestimate.
Risk Control and Prevention Resources
Our programs are backed by advisory services designed to close gaps before a claim tests them.
- Coverage gap analysis and policy benchmarking
- Pre-claim guidance from your Marshall+Sterling team when a potential issue surfaces
- Claims-made, retroactive date and tail coverage guidance
- Wire fraud and payment verification best practices
- Cyber hygiene and incident response planning resources
- Employment practices and HR risk guidance
Start a Conversation About Your Firm’s Coverage
Most firms don’t fully know what their policy covers, or what it doesn’t. Let’s review it together.
Understanding Claims-Made Coverage
Professional liability for accounting and law firms is typically written on a claims-made basis. That makes three details matter more than many firms realize:
- Your retroactive date. The policy covers work performed after this date. Keeping it intact when you renew or change carriers protects your past work.
- Reporting timelines. Claims, and often potential claims, need to be reported while the policy is in force and within its notice requirements.
- Tail coverage. When an attorney retires, a firm dissolves or firms merge, an extended reporting period can help protect against claims tied to past work.
We’ll walk you through how your current policy handles each one.
Claims Advocacy
When a potential claim surfaces, timing and how it’s reported matter. Your dedicated Marshall+Sterling claims team handles claim reporting and follow-up, helps you navigate notice requirements, works alongside your carrier and advocates for your firm through resolution, protecting both your practice and your reputation.
Support From a Dedicated Team
Our professional services practice brings decades of experience serving CPA firms and law firms, with deep expertise in professional liability, claims-made policy structure and coverage gap analysis. You work with the same dedicated team all year, not just at renewal, so the people advising you already know your firm, your coverage and your goals.
Professional Services Insurance FAQs
Do accounting firms need professional liability (E&O) insurance?
Yes. Clients, lenders and regulators rely on the work CPAs and accounting firms deliver, and an alleged mistake in a tax return, audit or advisory engagement can lead to a claim even when the firm did nothing wrong. Accountants’ professional liability helps cover defense and settlement costs for covered claims. Many firms also need cyber and crime coverage, since professional liability generally isn’t designed for data breaches or stolen funds.
What does professional liability insurance cover for law firms?
Lawyers professional liability (often called legal malpractice insurance) responds to claims alleging errors, omissions or negligence in the legal services your firm provides. It typically covers defense costs and settlements or judgments, subject to the policy’s terms, limits and exclusions. Because policies vary, it’s worth reviewing how yours defines professional services, what it excludes and whether defense costs reduce your limits.
What’s the difference between claims-made and occurrence policies?
An occurrence policy covers incidents that happen during the policy period, no matter when the claim is filed. A claims-made policy covers claims made and reported during the policy period, as long as the work in question happened after the policy’s retroactive date. Professional liability for accounting and law firms is typically claims-made, which makes continuity and reporting timelines especially important.
What is a retroactive date, and why does it matter?
It’s the earliest date of professional services your policy will cover. Work performed before that date isn’t covered, even if the claim arrives today. Keeping the same retroactive date when you renew or change carriers preserves protection for past work. Losing it, even by accident, can leave years of work uninsured.
Does professional liability cover wire fraud or social engineering losses?
Usually not. Professional liability responds to claims arising from your professional services. Funds sent to a fraudster, whether firm or client money, are typically addressed by cyber and crime coverage with social engineering or funds transfer fraud protection. How these policies work together varies, so it’s worth reviewing them side by side.
What is a hammer clause?
It’s a consent-to-settle provision. If your insurer recommends settling a claim and your firm declines, the clause can limit what the insurer pays going forward, often to the proposed settlement plus defense costs to that point. A “soft” hammer splits costs above that amount between the insurer and the firm by percentage. It’s worth understanding before a claim, because it affects who controls settlement decisions.
What happens to my coverage if I retire, change firms or merge?
A claims-made policy only responds to claims reported while it’s in force, so a change at your firm can create a gap. Options may include an extended reporting period (tail coverage) for a retiring attorney or dissolving firm, prior acts coverage for lateral hires and careful coordination of policies in a merger. These decisions are best made before the transition.
How is professional liability insurance priced for CPA and law firms?
Pricing depends on the number of professionals or attorneys, practice areas or service lines, claims history, years of prior acts coverage, chosen limits and deductibles, plus risk management practices such as conflict checks, engagement letters and docket controls. Firms with strong practices and a clean history are often better positioned over time.
Do you serve all 50 states?
Yes. Marshall+Sterling works with accounting and law firms in all 50 states.
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