Hendrickson Insurance
Hendrickson Insurance
CPA professional liability insurance in Florida covers a client's claim that a tax return, an audit, a review, a compilation or advice the firm gave caused a financial loss, including the penalties and interest a client is assessed because of a preparer's error. Hendrickson Insurance in Sarasota writes it for CPA firms, accountants, bookkeepers, enrolled agents and tax preparers across the Gulf Coast and statewide, paired with the cyber policy that answers for the client data on the firm's server. The broader coverage is explained on professional liability insurance in Florida; the data side is on cyber liability insurance in Florida.
CPA professional liability insurance in Florida, in one paragraph. Florida does not list liability insurance among the conditions of a CPA firm license in section 473.3101, so the coverage is driven by the engagement letters, the clients and the firm's own balance sheet, not the state. What a firm actually faces: Section 95.11(5)(b) of the Florida Statutes gives a professional malpractice claim two years, running from when the error is discovered or should have been discovered, and limits it to persons in privity with the professional. A written contract claim under 95.11(2)(b) has five years. A claim can therefore arrive years after the work, which is why the policy is written on a claims-made form and why the retroactive date and tail matter more than the limit. Firms that perform audits and other attest work are enrolled in peer review under section 473.3125(4), and carriers price the attest book separately from tax and bookkeeping. The second policy every firm needs is cyber, because a breach of client tax files triggers the 30-day notice clock in section 501.171. The application is here; Dennis reads it himself.
| Coverage | Typical limits | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants professional liability (E&O) | $250,000 to $2,000,000 per claim, same aggregate | A client's claim that the firm's tax, audit, review, compilation, bookkeeping or advisory work caused a financial loss. Defense costs inside or outside the limit depending on the form. |
| Cyber liability | $250,000 to $1,000,000 | Breach of client tax and financial data: forensics, the 30-day notice under section 501.171, credit monitoring, regulatory defense, ransomware. The E&O policy does not cover it. |
| General liability / BOP | $1,000,000 / $2,000,000 | A visitor hurt in the office, the leased space, the office contents and business income. |
| Workers' compensation | Statutory | Required at four employees under section 440.02; the firm's professional staff count. |
| Employment practices | $250,000 to $1,000,000 | Wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims from staff. Busy-season firings are where these start. |
| Umbrella | $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 | Over GL, auto and employer's liability. Does not sit over the E&O. |
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Two questions tell us whether we are the right fit. If we are, Dennis Hendrickson reads your application himself.
Get a CPA E&O quote →Accounting firms in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Venice, Tampa and St. Petersburg range from a sole practitioner with a tax practice to firms with attest departments, and the carriers that write accountants' E&O are a specialist set: the programs written through the state CPA society, the large professional liability carriers and the wholesale market for firms with a claim or a large attest book. Hendrickson Insurance places the account where the engagement mix fits and shows the retroactive date and the defense-cost treatment side by side. A firm that already has E&O and wants it reviewed rather than replaced can send the policy through the policy upload page.
What this office writes, and what it does not. The firm that moves the whole program, E&O plus cyber plus the office package, is the account this office is built for. A sole preparer who needs the cheapest possible E&O for a single engagement is better served by the society program directly, and the quote page will say so.Send it through the E&O application or email the declarations to dennis@hendricksonins.com. Dennis Hendrickson reads every submission himself and responds the same business day in most cases.
The firm licensure section, 473.3101, does not require it, and nothing in the licensing sections names an insurance minimum. The requirement comes from clients, lenders and engagement letters, and from the firm's own exposure: a malpractice claim under section 95.11(5)(b) can be filed within two years of when the error is discovered, which can be years after the return was filed.
It is rated on revenue, the share that is attest work, the number of professionals, the largest client, claims history and the limit. A tax and bookkeeping practice with no attest work and no claims is the lowest-rated profile; a firm with audit clients, a prior claim or a very large client is rated higher. The only real number is a quote from the application.
Most accountants' E&O forms cover penalties and interest a client is assessed because of the firm's error, and some cover the tax itself when the error cost a client an unrecoverable deduction or credit. The lowest-priced forms limit or exclude those. The quote identifies which form is being offered.
Yes. The E&O policy answers for professional errors, not for a breach of the client files on the firm's server. Section 501.171 requires notice to affected individuals within 30 days and to the Department of Legal Affairs when 500 or more Floridians are affected, with penalties up to $500,000 for failing to notify. The cyber policy pays the forensics, the notices and the regulatory defense.
Yes. Hendrickson Insurance writes accounting firms across the Gulf Coast and statewide; the application and the declarations are reviewed by Dennis Hendrickson personally, and the proposal shows the retroactive date and defense-cost treatment for every option.
Apply online or call 941-957-2796. Have your current dec pages with the retroactive date, claims history and the client contract requirements ready.
Dennis Hendrickson changed a New Jersey state tennis rule at 17 and played four years of Division I tennis at UNC Charlotte. Today he writes both the commercial and the personal insurance for Gulf Coast owners himself, and he works a renewal or a claim the way he played: nothing conceded, no point given away.
When you apply, he answers. Every application goes straight to Dennis. He reads it himself and responds the same business day in most cases, always within 48 hours.
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