Hendrickson Insurance
Hendrickson Insurance
Real estate E&O insurance in Florida covers a buyer's or seller's claim that a broker or sales associate's error, a missed disclosure, a misstatement about the property, a contract handled badly, caused a financial loss. It is written on the brokerage, and it covers the licensees working under the broker. Hendrickson Insurance in Sarasota writes it for brokerages, teams and property management firms across the Gulf Coast and statewide. The broader coverage is on professional liability insurance in Florida; firms that manage property for owners should read property manager insurance in Florida.
Real estate E&O in Florida, in one paragraph. Florida's license qualifications in section 475.17 do not require errors and omissions insurance, so the coverage is the brokerage's decision and, for many franchises and MLS boards, their requirement. The duty the claims are built on is in section 475.278: every licensee is presumed to be a transaction broker, owing the customer honest and fair dealing, skill, care and diligence, and the disclosure of all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer. A buyer who finds the water intrusion or the open permit after closing brings that claim against the brokerage. 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. The application is here; Dennis reads it himself.
| Coverage | Typical limits | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage E&O | $500,000 to $2,000,000 per claim | A buyer's, seller's, landlord's or tenant's claim of a professional error by the broker or an associate. Covers the licensees under the broker; the deductible is per claim and often applies to defense. |
| Open house and lockbox | Endorsement | Theft or damage at a listing during a showing. Standard E&O forms exclude it; the endorsement adds it. |
| Fair housing and discrimination | Sublimit | Claims under the federal and Florida fair housing laws. Sublimited or excluded on the cheaper forms. |
| Property management E&O | Endorsement or separate form | Errors managing property for owners: security deposits, tenant screening, maintenance decisions. Many real estate forms exclude it and it is written separately. |
| General liability / BOP | $1,000,000 / $2,000,000 | A visitor hurt at the office or at a showing, the office contents. |
| Cyber liability | $250,000 to $1,000,000 | Wire fraud in a closing, a breach of client financial data; section 501.171 requires notice within 30 days. The E&O form does not cover it. |
| Workers' compensation | Statutory | Required at four employees under section 440.02; independent-contractor associates are usually not employees, staff are. |
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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 real estate E&O quote →Brokerages in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Venice, St. Petersburg and Tampa range from a single broker with a team to firms with a hundred associates, and the Gulf Coast's inventory raises the disclosure stakes: waterfront homes with seawalls and flood histories, condos under the post-Surfside milestone inspection and reserve rules, and new construction with open permits. The brokerage E&O market is a specialist set of carriers, plus the programs offered through franchises and associations; Hendrickson Insurance places the brokerage where its mix of residential, commercial and property management fits and shows the deductible and the defense treatment side by side. Owners who manage their own commercial property can see commercial property insurance in Florida.
What this office writes, and what it does not. The brokerage placing E&O, the office package and cyber together is the account this office is built for. An individual associate whose broker already carries E&O covering the office usually needs nothing further; the quote page will say so.Send it through the professional liability 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 license qualifications in section 475.17 do not require it. Franchises, associations and some MLS boards do, and the exposure exists either way: the transaction broker duties in section 475.278 include disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential property, and a malpractice claim under section 95.11(5)(b) runs two years from when the buyer discovers the problem.
Yes, when the policy is written on the brokerage and the associates are listed or covered as licensees working under the broker. An associate who also does transactions outside the brokerage, or who manages property on the side, has an exposure the brokerage policy does not cover.
Often not. Many brokerage E&O forms exclude property management, or cover it only by endorsement with a limit on units. A brokerage that manages units for owners should say so on the application, so it is written in. The separate program is on the property manager insurance page.
Rated on commission income, the number of licensees, the transaction mix, property management, claims history, the limit and the deductible. A residential brokerage with written disclosure procedures and no claims is the lowest-rated profile. The quote is the only real number.
Usually no. A spoofed email that diverts closing funds is a social engineering loss under a cyber policy, and the sublimit for it varies by carrier. The brokerage that sends or receives wiring instructions needs that coverage written in, and a verification call on every wire.
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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