Jim,

My advice would be to obtain a minimum of a 2 million dollar general liability and 1 million professional liability insurance (basically like errors and omissions insurance for engineers).  Your agent should be able to set you up with those.

Jeff

Jim,

This is a tough one because the market that inspectors fall into a "specialty market", and there may not be a standard class code for the underwriter to place you in.  I've found the best approach is to make sure the agent is familiar with my business and then offer to visit directly with the underwriter as most underwriters spend a limited amount of time researching smaller clients. (especially ones that do not have an obvious class code, verses something like a painting or plumbing contractor for example)  When requesting quotes, I provide them with copies of certifications,  inspection procedures, reports etc.  When my business was primarily involved in the oil and gas industry, I was classified for several years in "Well Testing Services" because the underwriter claimed this was the only slot available.  In this class were companies like Halliburton that were working on live wellheads, when I may be in a shop inspecting a pressure vessel.  The next carrier put me into a classification with the description "pipeline inspection/anything that has a weld", because I worked on pipe. Now I am in a "professional services - other" class. 

The other kickers are that most insurance companies consider the length of time in business when they assess your risk
and some insurance companies have a minimum charge.  I have seen these minimums anywhere from 1,000 to 15,000. 

~thirdeye~