Choosing an E&O Broker for Your RIA: Carriers, Programs, and What They Cost

Carriers Underwrite the Risk; Brokers Sell You the Policy

Markel, Travelers, Chubb, and CNA are carriers — the companies that actually underwrite RIA errors and omissions policies and pay claims. Golsan Scruggs, Gallagher, Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants (RISC), and Starkweather & Shepley are brokers — firms that place policies with one or more carriers on your behalf and typically specialize in the advisory and insurance-professional space. When you're comparing options, keep straight which name you're looking at: a broker can shop multiple carriers for you, while going directly to a carrier (where that's even an option) skips the shopping-around step a specialty broker provides. A lot of the confusion in this market comes from generic insurance-marketplace advertising that blurs this distinction — asking any quote source directly whether they're a carrier or a broker, and which carriers they actually place with, clears it up fast.

The Broker Relationships Your Professional Associations Already Vet

NAPFA endorses RISC and Gallagher for its members, and FPA offers E&O programs through RISC as well. If you're already a member of either association, starting with their endorsed broker relationship is a reasonable first call — these relationships exist specifically because the associations have done some vetting on behalf of their membership, which is a real head start over researching brokers cold. That said, an endorsement isn't a guarantee that it's the cheapest or best-fit option for your specific practice; use it as a strong starting quote to compare against, not a decision made for you. Confirm the current endorsement status directly with the association before you act on it, since these relationships can and do change over time.

XY Planning Network's Group Program: Who Qualifies

XYPN's group E&O program is underwritten by Markel and placed through Starkweather & Shepley, and it's open to firms with $750,000 to $2 million in revenue. If your firm falls inside that band, a group program is worth investigating specifically because group programs can offer pricing and terms an individual small firm negotiating alone typically can't match. If your revenue is outside that range — either a brand-new solo practice well under $750,000 or a larger firm above $2 million — this specific program won't apply to you, and you'll need to go directly through a broker or one of the association-endorsed relationships instead. It's worth checking your eligibility directly with XYPN rather than assuming based on a rough revenue estimate, since the qualifying band is specific and worth confirming precisely.

What Posted Rates Actually Look Like

Actual posted pricing gives you something to benchmark quotes against rather than negotiating blind. One posted program (branded NAPA, underwritten by CNA) shows rates starting near $950 per year for firms with $0 to $125,000 in revenue, rising to $7,780 per year at $1.5 million to $2 million in revenue. A separate FPA-branded program posts $775 per year at the $0 to $125,000 revenue band. These are useful reference points precisely because they're tied to specific revenue bands — when you get your own quotes, make sure you're comparing figures at your actual revenue level, not a rounded estimate. Ask each source whether their quote is claims-made or occurrence coverage too, since that distinction affects what a posted number is actually buying you.

A Broker Name You'll See Referenced That No Longer Exists

If you come across Hays Companies mentioned as an E&O broker option in an older article or a list someone forwarded you, know that Hays Companies no longer exists as an independent entity — it was acquired by Brown & Brown in 2018. Outdated lists and old blog posts referencing Hays directly are a sign the rest of that source's information may be stale too; verify any broker or carrier name you encounter against a current source rather than an article that hasn't been updated since before the acquisition.

A Quote-Gathering Checklist

Before you request quotes: know your actual revenue band (not a rounded guess), know your custody status (fee-deduction-only versus broader custody changes your risk profile), and decide whether you're evaluating a claims-made or occurrence policy — most RIA E&O is claims-made, which matters if you ever switch carriers and need tail coverage. Then request quotes from at least two sources: your association's endorsed broker (RISC or Gallagher, if you're a NAPFA or FPA member), and the XYPN group program if your revenue falls in its $750,000–$2 million band. A general commercial insurance marketplace can round out the comparison, but the specialty brokers named above are where the actual RIA-specific E&O market runs. Ask every quote source for the carrier's name explicitly, and confirm that carrier is one of the established players in this space rather than an unfamiliar name you can't easily research.

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