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Errors & Omissions Insurance (E&O)

Teena Merlan
  • Updated

Information and requirements related to Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance with specifications to Proof. Professional Liability Policies and differences between aggregate and per occurrence information are also in this article. 

🎯Primary Audience: Notaries

Need to Know

Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance protects you from liability for false claims or unintentional notarial mistakes or omissions. You must provide information about your policy, and you must upload a copy of your E&O insurance policy to the platform for at least:

  • Real Estate: $100,000 
  • Retail & Business: $25,000 

Professional Liability Policies  

Your business may rely on an umbrella policy if it covers each individual notary for the required amount (at least $100,000 for Real Estate or $25,000 for Retail or Business).

🚨 If you are an independent contractor taking calls via the On-Demand Notary (ODN), Notarize, Inc. (dba Proof.com) must be listed as a certificate holder if you use a professional liability insurance policy. This requirement only applies to notaries in Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia who are enabled to take calls from the ODN queue. 

  • This does not apply to notaries employed by an organization that is a customer of Proof, known as In-House Notary (IHN).

  • This does not apply to notaries who only initiate their own transactions and do not take calls from the ODN queue.

  • This does not apply to personal E&O policies.

Learn more about the "why" behind the requirement above

A standard E&O policy is issued to an individual notary and is prepurchased for a set time. A professional liability insurance policy is issued to a business and stays in place only if the business continues to pay the monthly premium.

We allow businesses to use a professional liability insurance policy only if they name Notarize, Inc. (dba Proof.com) as a certificate holder so that we are notified if the business stops paying the insurance premium (which would cause the policy to lapse). A personal E&O policy is prepaid. Therefore, it is less likely that the policy will prematurely lapse.

 

How Does E&O Work?

E&O Insurance is liability coverage designed to protect both a notary and the person who hired the notary.

A notary can be sued if they make an unintentional error. In large financial deals (like a real estate closing), that is a huge potential loss.

 

Aggregate vs. Per Occurrence

  • Aggregate Amount = The total amount of coverage under the policy
  • Amount Per Occurrence = The amount of E&O coverage per “claim” (occurrence = claim)

Example

A lender asks for $100,000 per occurrence. For each E&O claim, the lender would like to be able to use all $100,000 of that insurance (each occurrence = 1 claim):

  • If the policy is $100,000 in aggregate (total), with the ability to pay out $100,000 per occurrence (per claim), then 1 single claim could wipe out the E&O coverage. 

Typically, E&O insurance is $10,000 per occurrence, covering 10 claims at $10,000 each if your total policy is $100,000. Having the policy structured "per occurrence" potentially provides coverage that could be shared among multiple lenders and title agents.  

Still have questions you can't find answers to? Click the chat icon in the corner of your screen to start a chat, email us at support@proof.com!

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