Short Answer
You have several options when a client requires higher professional liability limits than your firm currently carries. Increasing your existing practice policy is one path, but excess professional liability, project-specific coverage, and negotiating the requirement itself are also worth exploring.
The right approach depends on the contract language, how long the higher limit must be maintained, and what your current insurer and other markets can offer. Doubling your entire practice policy isn't automatically the only solution.
What exactly does the contract require?
Start with the insurance provision itself. A client may require a specific professional liability limit, but the details shape what you actually need to arrange. Is the higher limit required for the whole practice or just this project? Does the contract specify per-claim and aggregate limits separately? Is excess or umbrella coverage permitted, or does it name a specific insurer or policy form? These answers change which options are on the table.
How long must you maintain the higher limit?
Duration matters, particularly for professional liability. Some contracts only require the higher limit during the project itself. Others require it for a period after completion, or reference maintaining coverage for the professional services performed during the engagement. Those are different requirements, and the actual policy and contract language need to be reviewed together. If the provision is unclear, it's worth asking the client to clarify before deciding how to respond.
Can the requirement be negotiated?
Not every insurance provision is fixed. Whether a client will modify the requirement depends on the client, the contract, and the project. Worth raising: does the higher limit need to apply to every project you do for this client, or just this one? Would an existing policy plus an excess layer work? Is the requirement proportional to the actual scope and fee of the engagement? A client isn't obligated to agree to changes, but the goal is to clarify the requirement and identify acceptable options before committing to additional cost.
Can you increase your existing practice policy?
Yes, this is often the first thing to ask your current carrier or broker: can the policy go from $1 million to $2 million, and what would that cost? Your broker will likely need information about your current operations, the specific project, the required limit, the duration, and your claims history. The insurer determines what's available and on what terms.
Don't assume the premium will simply double along with the limit. Pricing for additional limits depends on the insurer, policy structure, and underwriting, and it doesn't necessarily scale proportionally.
Is excess professional liability available?
An excess policy sits above your existing professional liability coverage, subject to its own terms and conditions. Whether it can satisfy a client's requirement depends on the contract language and how the coverage is structured.
For example, $1 million underlying plus $1 million excess could potentially provide $2 million combined, but that's an illustration, not a guarantee that any specific contract requirement is met.
Before assuming this works, confirm whether the excess policy actually sits over the relevant professional liability coverage, whether the contract permits excess limits to satisfy the requirement at all, and whether the excess policy carries its own exclusions that could affect the project.
Is project-specific professional liability an option?
Depending on the market, a project-specific or project excess structure may provide additional coverage tied to a defined project and period, without permanently increasing your regular practice limits.
This tends to be worth exploring when one client's requirement is well above what your firm typically carries and the requirement is tied specifically to that one engagement. A project-specific policy shouldn't be assumed to cover every activity of your broader practice, so it needs to be evaluated against the actual contract.
Who pays for the additional insurance?
If a client requires substantially higher limits, the added cost is worth factoring into how you price the engagement. Worth discussing with the client: whether the cost is a one-time project expense or an ongoing one, whether the client will contribute toward it, and whether they'd consider modifying the limit or duration instead. There's no universal rule requiring the client to cover the additional premium. It's a commercial negotiation, not a default expectation.
Example
An architecture firm has carried $1 million in professional liability for several years. A new commercial client's contract requires $2 million.
The firm's first instinct is to assume it needs to replace its policy with a permanently higher limit. Before doing that, the firm and its broker review the contract wording to see whether the requirement applies to the whole practice or just this project, how long the higher limit needs to stay in place, whether the current carrier can increase the practice policy and at what cost, whether an excess layer could satisfy the requirement instead, and whether the client would accept an alternative structure.
Working through those questions first, rather than jumping straight to a bigger policy, gives the firm a clearer picture of what actually needs to change and what it will cost.
What to check
Before agreeing to a higher limit, review:
- The exact professional liability limits required by the contract
- Whether the requirement applies to this project or the entire practice
- How long the higher limit must be maintained
- What your current carrier would charge to increase the practice policy
- Whether excess professional liability could satisfy the requirement
- Whether project-specific or project excess coverage is available
- Whether the client would accept an alternative coverage structure
- How the additional cost compares to the project fee
The insurance requirement shouldn't be reviewed in isolation from the rest of the contract either. Indemnity language, limitation of liability, and any post-completion coverage requirements should be reviewed alongside the limit itself, since the limit is only one part of what you're agreeing to.
Related Questions
Can I buy an extra $1 million of E&O for one project?
Possibly. Depending on the insurer and project, excess or project-specific coverage may be available. The contract should be reviewed to confirm the proposed structure actually satisfies what's required.
What is excess professional liability insurance?
It provides additional limits above an underlying professional liability policy, subject to the excess policy's own terms and conditions. Whether the combined structure meets a client's requirement depends on the specific contract and policy language.
Can my client require me to maintain E&O after the project ends?
A contract can include this kind of requirement. Whether it's enforceable or reasonable depends on the contract, applicable law, and the circumstances, which is why this is worth reviewing with both your broker and legal counsel.
Should my client pay for the additional insurance?
There's no universal rule requiring it. The added cost is something to factor into the project fee and commercial negotiation rather than assume the client will cover.
Professional Liability
Helps respond when a client alleges your professional services caused a financial loss, project issue, or other damages.
Project Specific Professional Liability
A standalone policy covering one project under its own limit, separate from your annual program.
Excess Liability
Extends the limits of a single underlying policy without changing its terms.
Author:
Hardcover Editorial Team
Reviewed by:
Hardcover Insurance Team
Last reviewed:
September 21, 2026
This article is educational and does not provide legal advice or determine whether a specific claim is covered. Policy terms, exclusions, underwriting requirements, and applicable law vary. Consult your insurance professional and qualified legal counsel regarding your circumstances.