Gallagher vs 
Heffernan Insurance Brokers Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance
Gallagher gives E&O its own dedicated product page with named professions; Heffernan folds the line into a general small-business coverage list.
What Is Gallagher?
Gallagher is a business-insurance broker and risk-management consultancy. Its technology practice serves startups through global enterprises, alongside a separate small-business offering for IT professionals and an executive-risk practice covering D&O and transaction-related coverages. Woodruff Sawyer is now part of Gallagher. 1,2,3,4,5
What Is Heffernan Insurance Brokers?
Heffernan Insurance Brokers is an independent, Walnut Creek–headquartered retail brokerage that arranges business insurance, employee benefits, and related services. Its technology practice markets to mid- and late-stage companies, including venture-funded and pre-IPO firms. 7,8,9
What Is Professional Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance?
Professional errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, also called professional liability insurance, addresses claims that professional services or advice caused a client financial loss. What's covered depends on the services actually scheduled in the policy, not the product label alone. 11,12,13,14
Key Differences in Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance
A Dedicated Page Versus One Line in a List
Heffernan names errors and omissions as one coverage among several its small-business division places for clients, without a dedicated E&O product page: 10
Heffernan lists errors and omissions among the coverages its small-business division places for clients, shopping the line with insurers rather than underwriting it. 10Company-reported. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; no dedicated professional-E&O product page was found.
Gallagher instead runs a standalone Errors and Omissions Insurance page with its own coverage description, eligibility list and market-conditions section. 6
Who Each Page Names as a Fit
Gallagher recommends E&O for small businesses in technology, insurance, accounting, tax, wealth management and legal services, naming doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, caregivers, counselors, social workers and engineers. 6 Heffernan instead says its small-business division serves sole proprietors through fast-growing companies across construction, food, health care, hospitality, nonprofits, real estate, technology, transportation, and vintners and growers, without naming individual professions. 10
How Coverage Is Described
Gallagher describes E&O as protecting against client charges of negligence or injury tied to professional services, covering losses, attorney fees and court costs regardless of fault, and naming alleged negligence, personal injury, copyright infringement, punitive damages, and claims against past work, temporary staff or independent contractors. 6 Heffernan's page instead describes the coverage in one sentence, as protecting against claims for problems with a company's product or service that result in a client's financial loss, without listing specific scenarios. 10
What to Confirm in Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance Quotes
- Ask Heffernan whether it will build a dedicated E&O submission for your profession, since its page groups the coverage with other small-business lines. 10
- Ask Gallagher whether the market conditions it describes, rate increases and more selective underwriting, affect the specific quote you receive. 6
- Neither page names an issuing insurer; ask both Gallagher and Heffernan which carrier would underwrite your policy. 6 10
- Gallagher's reviewed page publishes no limit or premium figures, and Heffernan's reviewed page publishes none either; request specific figures from both. 6 10
Offering Details
Gallagher vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Gallagher Small Business Errors and Omissions Insurance | Heffernan Professional Errors and Omissions Brokerage |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Gallagher Small Business arranges errors and omissions (E&O) coverage with partner carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. 6Company-reported. Gallagher Small Business's direct-to-small-business E&O product page. | Heffernan lists errors and omissions among the coverages its small-business division places for clients, shopping the line with insurers rather than underwriting it. 10Company-reported. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; no dedicated professional-E&O product page was found. |
| Issuing Insurer | The E&O product page does not name the insurer that would issue a given business's policy. 6Not publicly disclosed. Checked the E&O product page on 2026-09-23. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Who It’s For | Gallagher recommends E&O for small businesses that provide a specific professional service, naming technology, insurance, accounting, tax, wealth management and legal services, and lists doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, caregivers, counselors, social workers and engineers as example professionals; it also notes that many client contracts require carrying E&O. 6Company-reported. Product page eligibility and recommended-professions lists; actual acceptance depends on underwriting. | Heffernan's small-business division says it serves sole proprietors through fast-growing companies across industries including construction, food, health care, hospitality, nonprofits, real estate, technology, transportation, and vintners and growers, and will custom-design a package for industries not listed. 10Company-reported. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; not exclusively E&O-specific, but describes the buyer base for the page listing this coverage. |
| Coverage Features | Gallagher describes E&O as protecting against client charges of negligence or injury tied to professional services, covering losses, attorney fees and court costs regardless of fault, and specifically responding to alleged or actual negligence, personal injury, copyright infringement, punitive damages, and claims against past work, temporary staff or independent contractors. 6Company-reported. Product page coverage description; the issued policy and its exclusions control. Note this record excludes medical malpractice, which the page treats as a separate specialized coverage covered under its own line. Gallagher's small-business team says the E&O market has seen consistent rate increases that have started to moderate, driven by higher claim frequency, litigation costs and a more litigious environment, and that insurers are more selective and require more detailed underwriting information. 6Company-reported. Product page market-commentary section; a general market view, not a quote for any specific business. | Heffernan describes errors and omissions coverage as protecting against claims for problems with a company's product or service that result in a financial loss to a client. 10Company-reported. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; the page does not list specific exclusions, claims-made versus occurrence form, or endorsements. |
| Limits and Retentions | The E&O product page does not publish limits, deductibles or premiums; it directs prospective buyers to request a quote instead. 6Not publicly disclosed. Checked the E&O product page on 2026-09-23. | The reviewed page does not publish limits, retentions, or premium ranges for errors and omissions coverage. 10Not publicly disclosed. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23. |
| How to Apply | Gallagher offers an online quote form, a small business advisor phone line (1-833-292-9441, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., continental U.S.), and a scheduled callback request to start an E&O quote. 6Company-reported. Product page "Get Covered Now" section. | Heffernan directs small-business buyers to contact the firm's small-business division to request a quote and says it will research and build a custom package for industries not already listed. 10Company-reported. Small Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23. |
Full Comparison
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Sources
Gallagher
- Technology Insurance. Gallagher; Introduction; Solutions and coverages for the technology industry: Technology errors and omissions including cyber, Intellectual property insurance, Product liability, Employee benefits; Data-driven insights; global network. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses. Gallagher Small Business; Protection for IT Professionals & Their Technology-Based Businesses; recommended coverage menu, including Surety Bond Programs; Connect With An Advisor. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Opening (insurance broking and placement); three key services; Directors and Officers; IPO and direct listings; Employment Practices; Fiduciary; Employee Dishonesty (Crime) and Fidelity Bond; Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion; M&A Transactional Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Errors and Omissions Insurance. Gallagher Small Business; What is Errors and Omissions Insurance?; Do you need Errors and Omissions insurance?; Recommended for professionals including; E&O trends; An E&O policy protects you from; Consider this claim scenario; Get Covered Now. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
- Our Story. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Headquartered in Walnut Creek; nationwide presence; founded 1988; employee owned; niche practices including technology. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology Company Insurance. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Pre-IPO and venture-funded heading; mid to late stage specialization; global expansion copy; self-insurance strategies; Key Markets list; Why Heffernan broker history; Joseph Talmadge practice leader; FAQ. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Heffernan Business Insurance Brokerage. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Forward-Thinking Business Insurance: basic coverages (general liability, commercial property and auto, workers’ compensation); corporate and executive protection (EPL, D&O, fiduciary responsibility, cyber, kidnap and ransom); alternative risk capabilities; claims, loss control and risk-management services; industry practice links including Technology and Claims Advocacy. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Small Business Insurance. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; The types of coverage we can provide include... Errors and omissions protects against claims for problems with your product or service that result in a financial loss; industries served list; Specialty Programs; contact for custom-designed packages. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance Guide
- FAQ: Professional liability insurance. Texas Department of Insurance; What’s professional liability coverage?; What types of damages…; What’s general liability insurance?; Do I need professional liability… if I have general liability…?; Is professional liability insurance required?; Can a client require…?; What’s the difference between occurrence policies and claims-made policies. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Professional liability insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Opening paragraphs (professional services/advice and E&O name); Claims not covered by general liability; What types of businesses need professional liability insurance?; What’s covered… and what’s not (claims-made versus occurrence, defense and judgments, non-financial/intentional limits, BOP/in-home exclusion). Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Get business insurance. U.S. Small Business Administration; Six common types of business insurance table. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Professional Liability – US Direct Errors and Omissions Insurance. Hiscox Inc. specimen; About this Policy / Coverage for Claims Made Against You; I.A Insuring Agreement; I.B Defense; I.C Settlement; II.A Notice of Claims; II.C Optional Extended Reporting Period; III.A, III.K, III.M, III.R, III.S Exclusions; IV.A–B Limits and Deductible; VI.O Professional Services; VI.U Wrongful Act. Accessed 2026-09-16.
