The Astara Real Estate E&O policy is designed to respond to the very diverse needs of the real estate industry. We have positioned the program to satisfy the needs of both real estate firms and individuals by offering both firm policy coverage and Independent Contractor coverage.
The Astara Real Estate Errors & Omissions Insurance Program provides coverage for those professional services provided by a real estate agent or broker, a real estate personal assistant, real estate appraiser, property manager, leasing agent, short term escrow agent, mortgage broker, or auctioneer of real property. Other professional services are covered including but not limited to expert witness and real estate consultant or counselor services. See the policy for complete coverage details.
The program provides the following limit options:
| Claim | Aggregate | Each Claim | Aggregate | Each Claim | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $300,000 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
| $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $250,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $300,000 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
The program provides the following deductible options:
| Zero | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 | $3,500 |
| $5,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
The Astara Real Estate E&O policy is designed to respond to the very diverse needs of the real estate industry. We have positioned the program to satisfy the needs of both real estate firms and individuals by offering both firm policy coverage and Independent Contractor coverage.
The standard Astara Real Estate Errors & Omissions Insurance policy consists of the following:
This is the CorePointe Insurance Company Policy Jacket which is included on all CorePointe policies.
This declarations page provides the policy number, insured information, premium, policy limits, deductible and the forms list.
This is the policy wording for the Astara Real Estate policy
This form is included on all Independent Contractor (IC) policies and is available in both the mandate and non-mandate states.
This is the CorePointe Insurance Company signature Page which is included on all policies.
The policy form (PL990700) provides a variety of supplemental coverages that are included at no additional cost and respond to the needs of most real estate firms and individuals:
The coverage limits shown are the maximum available limits provided within the policy for these coverage extensions.
The policy automatically provides limits of $20,000 per licensing or disciplinary proceeding to a maximum of $50,000 per policy period.
The policy automatically provides up to $750 loss of earnings to each insured per day for attendance at a hearing, trial, mediation or arbitration to a maximum $25,000 per policy period.
The policy will reimburse the insured for expenses incurred in responding to a subpoena subject to notification within 14 days of receipt.
At the carrier’s sole discretion, they may pay for all costs or expenses they incur as a result of investigating a potential claim the insured reports.
The policy will reimburse up to $25,000 per public relations event subject to a maximum of $50,000 per policy period for advisory services provided by a public relations firm as a result of a public relations event.
The policy provides limits of $25,000 each claim/$75,000 per policy period for damages and claims expenses resulting from a client network damage claim or a network and information security offense.
The policy provides a $20,000 limit per policy period for expenses (subject to limitations) incurred by the insured to:
In addition to the Supplemental Coverages, the policy provides a variety of additional coverage features that further respond to the needs of the real estate industry. These coverage features include:
The standard policy includes Discrimination coverage applicable to both damages and claims expenses at a limit of $500,000 on policies with limits of $500,000 or more. The Discrimination limit will match the policy limit on those policies with limits under $500,000. Higher limits up to $2,000,000 are available subject to policy limits equal to or greater than the Discrimination limit chosen.
Claim expenses are in addition to (or outside) the limits of liability. This means that the claim expenses the carrier pays out in defense costs will not erode or reduce the limits of liability available for the payment of claims.
The basic policy provides coverage for property damage that may occur during an open house while in the care, custody and/or control of the insured.
The policy automatically provides pollution coverage based on:
a. no ownership interest in the residential property
b. Seller’s real property disclosure statement was completed
c. The buyer’s right to request testing/inspection for the existence of mold, fungi or microbes was provided by the agent.
Coverage that extends the mold, fungi and microbe coverage to real property and removes the above limitations is available.
The Real Estate policy provides coverage for the sale of owned residential properties subject to a variety of limitations. We suggest you review the policy to fully understand the coverage and its limitations. An endorsement is available that removes the limitations for the sale of wholly or partially owned residential properties.
The Astara Real Estate E&O policy provides limited coverage for the sale of owned (under 25% ownership interest) and leasing of commercial properties (under 50% ownership interest). We suggest you review the policy to fully understand the coverage and its limitations. The Amend Exclusions Endorsement (Owned Property) removes the limitations for the sale of wholly or partially owned commercial properties and provides full coverage for the leasing of owned real property.
The policy automatically provides Innocent Insured coverage as long as the insured did not commit or have prior knowledge of the wrongful act. Upon learning of the wrongful act, the insured must take affirmative action to mitigate the loss.
The policy includes an extended claims notification period of within 60 days of the expiration date of the policy.
The policy provides a variety of deductible reductions in addition to the Claims Free Deductible Reduction shown below. These include:
If the insured promptly consents to settle a claim when the carrier first requests cooperation a 50% reduction in the deductible (up to $500) will apply.
A reduction in the deductible up to $5,000 is available on those sales where the insured acts as either the seller’s agent or buyer’s agent and subject to the following conditions:
a. A home inspection was completed and the buyer was provided a copy prior to closing; or
b. If the insured is exclusively the buyer’s agent a statement outlining the reasons a home inspection should be completed and a list of three home inspection companies was provided prior to the closing
4. A state or local board approved standard sales contract was used.
The deductible will be reduced by 50% or to $25,000 (whichever is less) if mediation is used and the claim is resolved within 180 days.
These Risk Reduction Incentives are limited to one per claim. The insured will receive the benefit of the highest deductible reduction and the Claims Free Deductible Reduction if applicable.
If the policy is canceled or non-renewed by either the insured or the carrier the policy provides a 60-day automatic extended reporting period starting at the termination of the policy if the insured has not obtained replacement coverage. The policy offers a variety of other Extended Reporting Period options.
The standard Astara Insurance Solutions Real Estate Errors & Omissions Insurance Policy includes a variety of endorsements that respond to the needs of the real estate industry and are included for no additional charge. These include:
The deductible is reduced by $100 for each year that the insured remains claims free up to a $1,000 maximum reduction. Most Insureds choose a $2,500 deductible which can be reduced by a maximum of $1,000 resulting in a $1,500 deductible. This endorsement is included at no additional charge on the standard policy. This deductible is in addition to the other deductible reductions available within the policy.
The standard policy provides a $5,000 Each Claim/Aggregate Limit subject to a $500 deductible. This coverage is automatic and provides bodily injury and property damage coverage from an act or omission in the rendering of professional services for the sale or attempted sale of residential property subject to no other insurance applies to the claim. Two additional Contingent Bodily Injury/Property Damage endorsements are available with higher limits and extended coverage.
The standard policy provides Lockbox Coverage for both bodily injury and property damage at a $500,000 Each Claim/Aggregate limit. The Lockbox Each Claim/Aggregate limit will match the policy limits on those policies with limits under $500,000. Higher limits up to $2,000,000 are available for Lockbox Coverage as long as the policy limits are equal to or greater than the Lockbox Each Claim/Aggregate limit.
The standard policy extends the professional services to include renovation services subject to a written contract covering renovation and reconstruction of commercial and residential property at a sub-limit of Liability of $25,000 Each Claim and $50,000 Aggregate subject to a $1,000 Each Claim Deductible.
The standard Astara Real Estate Errors & Omissions insurance policy offers a variety of endorsements that allows the applicant to purchase a policy that that is designed to respond to the individual or firm’s very specific needs. These endorsements range from adding coverage for additional professional services to adding coverage extensions not included in the standard policy.
The Astara Real Estate E&O policy provides the option to add additional professional services that are specific to the real estate firm. These additional professional services include:
Those firms whose professional services also include business brokering operations will want to include this endorsement on the policy. The charge for this endorsement is based upon the revenues generated from the business brokering services provided by the insured.
Those insureds whose professional services include escrow agent services performed for others will want to purchase this endorsement. The charge for this endorsement is based upon the revenues generated from the services performed by the insured.
Firms that provide mortgage brokering services will want the policy to extend coverage for those operations. The charge for this coverage is based upon the revenues generated from these services. The following endorsements are added to the policy when Mortgage Brokering revenues are included on the application:
Mortgage Banking Services Exclusion which excludes all Mortgage Banking Services from coverage. Regulatory Exclusion which excludes coverage for any federal, state or local regulatory agency unless the professional services were rendered by the insured.If an insured performs professional services for others that include title agent, title abstractor or title searcher services this endorsement should be purchased. The charge for this endorsement is based upon the revenues generated from these services.
The Astara program offers a variety of coverage extensions that allow the insured to customize the coverage to fit their needs. These additional coverage extensions include:
The insured has the option of purchasing first dollar defense coverage. When this endorsement is purchased, the deductible the insured is obligated to pay applies to the payment of damages only.
The insured may purchase this endorsement which removes the limitations on mold, fungi and microbe coverage within the standard Astara Real Estate E&O policy.
The insured has the option of extending the standard Astara Real Estate Errors & Omissions Insurance policy to provide coverage for the sale or attempted sale of residential property wholly or partially owned by the insured, their spouse or domestic partner.
This endorsement provides full coverage for the leasing of owned, constructed or developed real property and the sale or attempted sale of owned, constructed or developed commercial property.
The insured may purchase coverage for the sale or attempted sale of properties that have been constructed or developed by the insured under a separate business entity owned by the insured. The Insured has the option of two endorsements:
Construction and Development Properties Sub-limitThis endorsement is specific to a single business entity owned by the insured that is constructing or developing properties and offers limit options of $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000.
This endorsement is specific to those firms that have multiple business entities constructing or developing properties and offers limit options of $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000.
The standard policy provides a Limited Contingent Bodily Injury/Property Damage endorsement specific to the sale or attempted sale of residential property with limits of $5,000 Each Claim/Aggregate Limit subject to a $500 deductible. The insured has the option of increasing the limits and the professional services covered through the purchase of the following endorsements:
This coverage provides bodily injury and property damage coverage from an act or omission in the rendering of professional services (excluding Property Management) subject to the requirement that no other insurance applies to the claim.
This coverage provides bodily injury and property damage coverage from an act or omission in the rendering of professional services as a property manager subject to the requirement that no other insurance applies to the claim.
These endorsements offer optional limits of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 subject to a $1,000 deductible. Both endorsements require that the insured maintain a Comprehensive General Liability Insurance Policy including premises/operations and products/compIeted operations in the amount of $1,000,000.
The insured may choose to extend the policy to provide coverage for Employment Practices Liability insurance which covers wrongful employment practice or wrongful discrimination claims at the policy limits and deductible.
The insured has the option to purchase an Aggregate Deductible which limits the total amount of all deductible payments during the policy period. The Aggregate Deductible options are one, two or three times the deductible. The Aggregate Deductible is available for both damages and claims expenses and damages only (First Dollar Defense) policies. Examples:
The aggregate deductible makes sense for those insureds that own larger firms that may have more claims frequency who wish to limit the dollars they spend in deductible expenses.
If preferred, the insured has the option of purchasing a zero deductible which removes the deductible entirely from the policy. Though it increases the premium, it can make sense for some insureds.
Those larger firms that have an approved legal firm and higher deductibles of $10,000 or more may wish to be more in control of their claims and may choose to purchase this endorsement. The purchase of this endorsement does place the claim expenses inside the limits of liability.
The insured has the option of purchasing Not-For-Profit Directors’ and Officers’ coverage at limits of $15,000 each claim up to $30,000 per policy period for damages or claim expenses for claims arising from the insured’s activities as a director or officer of an outside organization.
In the standard Astara Real Estate E&O policy the claim expenses are in addition to (or outside) the limits of liability. This means that the claim expenses the carrier pays out in defense will not erode or reduce the limits of liability available for the payment of claims.
The insured has the option to purchase this endorsement which places the claim expenses inside the limits of liability which, in turn, lowers the cost of the insurance coverage.
Those insureds that are a part of a franchise organization may choose to include additional insured coverage for the franchise organization’s regional and international operations for claims made against them for an act or omission in the performance of professional services by the insured. The inclusion of this endorsement is usually a requirement of the franchise organization.
Policies written for those insureds that are a part of a RE/MAX franchise organization will include additional insured coverage for the RE/MAX regional and international operations for claims made against them for an act or omission in the performance of professional services by the insured. This endorsement also provides the insured with an Aggregate Deductible limited to three times the deductible and $1,000,000 Discrimination Limit of Liability.
The insured has the option of adding vicarious liability coverage for those entities that may have an interest in the insured’s operation to the policy subject to underwriting approval.
This endorsement is included on the policy of those insureds who meet the requirements and extends the policy for a second year subject to limitations provided on the form including but not limited to the following:
Those policies that include the Automatic Renewal will have a Renewal Certificate issued in lieu of a completely new renewal policy. The Renewal Certificate will be issued for those policies that meet the requirements of the Automatic Renewal.
The Astara Real Estate E&O policy offers a variety of Predecessor Firm endorsements that provide limited coverage for the insured’s Predecessor Firms. These endorsements include:
This endorsement provides Predecessor Firm coverage subject to a limited time period.
This endorsement provides Predecessor Firm coverage with a limitation based upon a gap in coverage.
The policy automatically provides a 60-day Extended Reporting Period. There are a variety of Extended Reporting Period (ERP) options available to the insured. These include:
The Astara Real Estate E&O program provides the insured with the ability to purchase an Optional Extended Reporting Period for:
a, a one (I) year ERP for 175% of the annual premium for the policy;
b. a two (2) year ERP for 200% of the annual premium for the policy;
c. a three (3) year ERP for 250% of the annual premium for the policy.
The Astara Real Estate E&O program provides an unlimited death or disability extended reporting period at no cost to the insured.
The Astara Real Estate E&O program provides a non-practicing extended reporting period to individuals at no cost to the insured.
We strongly suggest that you carefully read the endorsements you are interested in purchasing as the description provided is simply an overview of each endorsement. If you have any questions, your insurance agent will be able to assist you or if you prefer you may contact Astara Insurance Solutions as we will be happy to assist you at any time.
