Axis Insurance Services agents and brokers E&O review for insurance agents: E&O cost, coverage and policy terms
E&O for agents and brokers pays to defend and settle a client's claim that your work caused them a loss. Axis Insurance Services is a New Jersey broker that places this coverage with insurers for agencies and other insurance firms.
It fits agencies, wholesalers, MGAs (managing general agents), TPAs (third-party administrators) and reinsurance intermediaries, including firms that need limits up to $100 million. Every policy is quoted.
- Best for
- Agencies, wholesalers, MGAs and other intermediaries that need high limits or a complex placement
- Price
- Quote only
- Insurer
- The insurer Axis places you with, named on the quote
- Lines covered
- Agency and brokerage work in P&C, life, health and annuities, plus MGA, TPA and reinsurance work
- Policy form
- Claims-made and reported: the claim has to be made and reported during the policy period
Our take
Axis suits a firm with work a standard agent E&O program may not fit, such as an MGA, a wholesaler or a claims administrator. As a broker, it shops one application with insurers and brings back a quote.
Limits on the application run from $1 million to $5 million, and Axis markets limits up to $100 million for larger firms.
Read the defense terms closely. The standard application says defense costs reduce the limit, so ask for defense outside the limit if you want it.
Pros
- Covers MGAs, wholesalers, TPAs and reinsurance intermediaries
- Limits up to $100 million
- Defense outside the limit and first-dollar defense as options
- Next-business-day certificates for current clients
Cons
- No published prices or named insurer before you quote
- Defense costs reduce the limit unless you buy the option
- The application needs a five-year loss history
- Claims sent only to Axis don't count as notice to the insurer
Who can buy
- Licenses
- The application asks where you're licensed or registered
- Lines
- Retail agencies, brokers, wholesalers, MGAs, MGUs, program administrators, surplus lines brokers, TPAs and reinsurance intermediaries
- Years licensed
- Firms under three years old attach resumes for every principal
- Prior claims
- You disclose claims and canceled coverage from the past five years and regulatory actions from the past three, with a five-year loss history
- Membership required
- No
What it costs
- How it's priced
- Axis, a broker, shops your application with insurers and returns a quote
- What sets the price
- Your services, lines, revenue, staff, loss history and the limit and deductible you ask for
Insurer and admitted status
- Issuing insurer
- The insurer on your quote. Axis is the broker, not the insurer
- Administrator
- Axis Insurance Services, a broker in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with a wholesale arm called PLRisk
- States
- Axis holds agency or surplus lines licenses in many states. Ask whether your state is open for this coverage
Policy form, prior acts and tail
- Policy form
- Claims-made and reported
- Retroactive date
- The application asks for your current one, the earliest date of past work your policy covers. The new insurer decides whether to keep it
- Tail options
- An extended reporting period may be offered, giving extra time to report claims after the policy ends. Terms come with the quote
Claims-made means the policy in force when the claim is made pays it. Ask the new insurer to match your current retroactive date before you bind.
Limits, deductibles and defense
| Limit per claim | Aggregate | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| $1 million, $2 million, $3 million or $5 million | Set in the quote | $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 per claim |
| Up to $100 million | Set in the quote | Set in the quote |
These are the choices on the application. Per claim is the most paid on one claim, the aggregate is the most paid in a policy year and the deductible is your share of each claim.
- Defense costs
- The standard application says defense costs reduce the limit. Axis can place defense outside the limit, or first-dollar defense, where the deductible doesn't apply to defense costs, as options
Consent to settle and exclusions
Excluded
- Any claim arising from facts you disclosed, or should have disclosed, on the application
Who the policy covers
- The agency
- The applicant and any subsidiaries or affiliates you list
- Independent contractors
- Optional coverage you can ask for
- Subproducers
- The application asks whether you require subproducers to carry their own E&O
Included and optional coverage
| Coverage | Included or optional | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Defense outside the limit | Optional | Set in the quote |
| First-dollar defense | Optional | Set in the quote |
| Independent contractors | Optional | Set in the quote |
| Carrier insolvency | Optional | Set in the quote |
| Disciplinary proceedings | Optional | Set in the quote |
| Owned property, construction management, joint ventures | Optional | Set in the quote |
How to apply
Download the application
Use the Insurance Agents and Brokers Professional Liability application on the Axis site.
Complete and sign it
A principal, partner or senior officer signs it.
Attach your documents
A five-year loss history, a claim supplement for each claim and resumes if the firm is under three years old.
Send it in
Email apps@axisins.com, use the online form or fax it.
Review the quote and bind
Axis sends a binder as proof of insurance until the policy is ready.
Current clients can request a certificate online and get it by email the next business day. Same-day requests go through the account manager.
Claims and risk management
- How to report
- Send the claim to the insurer as your policy instructs. Axis can help forward it
- When to report
- Before the policy expires. A notice sent only to Axis doesn't count as notice to the insurer
- Axis claims help hours
- Weekdays from 8:30 to 5:00 Eastern, except major holidays
Axis publishes articles on agency E&O and on coverage during mergers and acquisitions.
Axis Insurance Services agents and brokers E&O alternatives
- MarkelQuote onlySpecialty insurer covering MGAs and wholesalers, primary or excess
- Berkley Service Professionals$10,000 minimum a year, firms with $2M+ revenuePublished minimum premium for agency E&O
- PIA Agency InsuranceQuote onlyAssociation broker that shops several insurers
- RockwoodQuote onlyLloyd's program for P&C agencies, with a newly licensed track
- Big I Professional LiabilityQuote onlySwiss Re program with defense outside the limit
See every option in E&O insurance for insurance agents.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Axis agents E&O cost?
Axis doesn't publish prices. It quotes after insurers review your application and loss history.
Is Axis Insurance Services the insurer?
No. Axis is a broker, and the insurer it places you with issues the policy.
Are defense costs inside or outside the limit?
Inside on the standard application. Defense outside the limit is an option you can ask for.
How fast do I get a certificate?
Axis sends a binder as proof of insurance until the policy is ready. Later certificates arrive by email the next business day.
How we researched this review. We based this review on the terms and product pages published by Axis Insurance Services agents and brokers E&O, reviewed in October 2026, together with our team's experience working with insurance agents and agency owners since 2008.
Corrections
Vendors change their pricing all the time and they don't email us when they do. So if you see a price on here that's gone up, a plan Axis Insurance Services agents and brokers E&O quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where Axis Insurance Services agents and brokers E&O has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.