Best Professional Liability Insurance Providers | 5-Star Professional Liability

Under the soft status quo, brokers have had to use their expert judgment to deliver for clients by weeding out underpriced, unsustainable policies and concentrating on insurers who focus on prudent underwriting. To that end, the brokers’ ratings highlight the providers who have stayed clear of the soft market pitfalls and showcased a level of excellence. This is the cohort recognized as IBA’s 5-Star Professional Liability 2025 winners.

Deborah Dioguardi, executive VP and professional lines, national practice leader at Jencap Specialty Insurance Services, says, “We’re having the most success with the providers that are quick, giving us the best quote with the best coverage at the best price. That’s who we’re typically presenting.”

Despite ticking off these fundamentals, the best professional liability providers are still under pressure to never allow their standards to dip. 

“The days of getting the quotations within 10 days are gone. Typically, we like to provide quotations and options to our retail brokers within a few days. I would say it’s more like four days,” explains Dioguardi. “A lot of times, the first one with the best coverage is presented, as pricing is not everything now due to many markets giving us quotations.”

There is also a rising demand for professional liability as various sectors are developing and expanding.

Cognitive Market Research’s Professional Liability Insurance Market Report 2025 states, “Due to the complexity of their work, professionals in a variety of areas, including doctors, lawyers, accountants, and engineers, are more vulnerable.”

The leading providers are responding to industry-specific developments, such as medical malpractice payouts increasing as more nuclear verdicts (+$10 million) and thermonuclear verdicts (+$25 millions) are reached. 

According to Risk Strategies’ State of the Insurance Market: 2025 Outlook, “This trend will continue and accelerate, leaving insurance carriers vulnerable to significant losses. If this risk grows, it may change underwriting and make acquiring coverage more difficult.”

The report also points to a dearth of insurers willing to deploy more than $5 million of professional liability limit on a per-claim or aggregate basis.

Therefore, the leading insurers have seen the shift to decreased capacity as an opportunity and have entered reinsurance treaties where they offer limits up to $10 million, or even $15 million, to qualifying firms. 

“This allows them to attract business from well-managed firms that otherwise may have had to bind coverage with up to three different insurers to obtain the desired limits.”

Over the past three years, brokers had rated a series of categories in response to the question: When choosing a policy for a client, generally how important are the following to you? (5 = very important, 1 = not important)

What is evident is the growing importance of service, processing speeds, and being able to craft bespoke policies.

Overall insights

• Strategic focus: The largest gains are in customization, speed, and partnership – areas that reflect a shift toward client-centric, value-added services.
  
   

• Areas for improvement: Underwriting experience and digital platforms are lagging, potentially impacting satisfaction and efficiency.
  
   

• Competitive implications: Insurers excelling in bespoke solutions and claims efficiency are likely to gain market share, while those neglecting underwriting or digital innovation may fall behind.
  
   

The soft market has made it even more crucial for providers to ensure brokers have a thorough understanding of their products. That process involves brokers analyzing and being confident in what they are recommending to clients.

🛡️ Coverage clarity and customization

• Brokers are seeking modular, tailored solutions that address evolving risks and regulatory complexity. This is especially important for industries like architecture, aviation, and technology, where exposures are changing rapidly.
  
   

• There is a strong need for clear, unambiguous policy language, particularly around exclusions (e.g., war, systemic risk, cyber events) and incident response services. 
  
   

⏱️Claims handling and responsiveness

• Speed, transparency, and support during claims are critical pain points for brokers and their clients. The ability of insurers to handle claims efficiently and provide robust support during the process is a top priority. 
  
   

• Brokers value insurers who offer proactive support and education for clients, especially in the context of cyber incidents and professional liability claims. 
  
   

⚖️Regulatory and market pressures

• Evolving regulations (such as SEC cyber disclosure rules and state privacy laws) are driving demand for more tailored professional and cyber liability products. 
  
   

• Brokers are concerned about tightening capacity, rising premiums, and stricter underwriting in both cyber and professional lines, particularly for high-risk industries. 
  
   

💻 Cyber risk and technology integration

• The rising frequency and severity of cyberattacks (especially ransomware and business email compromise) have made robust cyber coverage and risk management guidance a top concern. 
  
   

• Brokers are interested in digital tools and insurtech that streamline quoting, policy management, and claims processes, as well as tools that enhance client engagement. 
  
   

📚 Client education and advocacy

• Many clients, especially small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), lack understanding of professional liability and cyber exposures. Brokers see an opportunity to educate and differentiate themselves by providing guidance and advocacy. 
  
   

• Brokers are focused on helping clients navigate complex, evolving risks (catastrophe, compliance, ESG, technology adoption) and ensuring clients are not underinsured. 
  
   

🏗️Industry-specific concerns

• For certain sectors, such as aviation, architecture, and science, brokers are attentive to unique coverage gaps and regulatory requirements (e.g., for drones, intellectual property, and research data). 
  
   

• Rising premiums, inflation, and claims costs are major concerns in sectors like aviation and professional indemnity.
  
   

A common refrain among brokers is they would encourage more innovation across the board. Dioguardi says, “The professional liability space is not innovative enough; some carriers are doing the same things that they’ve been doing for the last 10 years.”

One firm embracing progression and marching forward is AXIS. For example, the firm has responded by expanding its Allied Health offering to meet outpatient providers’ needs, from home health to imaging centers. 

“We offer tailored coverage, deep sector expertise, and responsive underwriting. Our underwriters understand the operational nuances of healthcare delivery, and we’ve designed modular coverage that adapts to the way these organizations work,” says John Van Decker, head of global financial lines and North America programs. “Ours is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it’s built with a particular customer in mind.”

AXIS has further innovated by adopting new technology to improve efficiency, allowing its underwriters to focus on areas that require expert judgment.

 

“Our teams stay close to evolving standards, whether in environmental liability, financial lines, or healthcare, and we’ve invested in tools that help us respond quickly and responsibly. It’s about making sure our coverage reflects what’s happening in the market”

John Van DeckerAXIS

Van Decker says, “We’re embracing AI with purpose – focusing on areas like intake, submission review, and initial underwriting analysis. These efforts help us gain deeper insights and improve consistency, allowing our teams to concentrate on the most strategic aspects of risk evaluation.”

The company’s AI-powered automation also supports streamlining operations and reducing manual workloads, ultimately contributing to better decision-making and a stronger customer experience.

This is all part of a deliberate investment AXIS has made in its claims infrastructure, which has translated into faster resolution times and more consistent outcomes. 

“We’re seeing meaningful improvements in how quickly we’re able to respond, especially in complex or high-severity cases. Our goal is always to deliver clarity, responsiveness, and resolution when it matters most,” adds Van Decker.

Along with rating the best professional liability insurance providers, brokers also shared what they feel is needed in the sector to drive standards even higher.

The best providers are aligned in combining personal liability coverage with other coverages. Brokers are also calling for this approach due to their clients’ needs. This requires more underwriters to break out of their niche and be cross-trained in different products.

Suggestions include, in professional lines, writing professional liability with directors’ and officers’ liability and employment practices liability. Another is to include combined type policy forms issues, such as sexual abuse and molestation coverage, in professional liability.

“There are some carriers doing it, but it’s not that common, and we do get the request quite often, especially having general liability with the professional liability,” says Dioguardi. “Also, for cyber liability, we do not have professional liability carriers that can do full robust cyber liability insurance. That is an area that I think is important.”

This is echoed by a broker who took part in IBA’s survey. 

“We still see many policies with weak cyber breach endorsements that do not cover ransomware. Carriers should include ransomware coverage or clearly detail the limitations of their cyber coverage.”

The best professional liability insurance providers are not necessarily the cheapest, but are those that provide a comprehensive package that brokers value, encompassing:

• quick claims processing speed
  
   

• a desire to adapt and act on broker feedback
  
   

• offering options to bolt on additional coverage and enable customization
  
   

• using tech for basic processes, putting their underwriting team’s focus on innovative coverage

• Allied World Assurance Company (AWAC)
• Beazley
• Berkley
• CFC Underwriting
• E-Risk Services
• Nationwide
• RSUI
• Skyward Specialty
• Travelers
• USLI
• Vela Insurance Services