General Liability vs. Errors & Omissions: What Actually Covers a Bad Solar Install

Two energy contractors each get a claim. One crew punctures a roof membrane during a solar install and the homeowner's attic floods in the next storm. The other designs a solar array that, once live, produces well under the output it projected. Both are real claims — but they're covered by two entirely different policies, and mixing them up is one of the most common coverage gaps we see.

General Liability: Physical Injury and Property Damage

General liability responds to third-party bodily injury or property damage — the roof puncture, a ladder that damages siding, a jobsite injury to a visitor. It also extends into completed operations, covering claims that surface after the job is done, like a fire later traced to faulty wiring. GL is the foundation every energy contractor needs, but it stops at physical loss.

Errors & Omissions: Financial Loss From a Judgment Call

Errors & omissions (professional liability) covers financial loss stemming from a design, sizing, or recommendation mistake — no physical damage required. An underperforming solar array, a mis-sized HVAC system that never keeps up with the load, or an energy-audit recommendation that doesn't deliver the projected savings are all E&O exposures, not GL ones.

Why This Distinction Trips Contractors Up

Most contractors assume "insurance is insurance" and that a GL policy covers anything that goes wrong on a job. It doesn't. If you make any sizing, placement, or system-design decision — even something as routine as choosing equipment size for a space — you carry design exposure that GL was never built to cover.

A Claims-Made Wrinkle Worth Understanding

E&O is typically written on a claims-made basis, meaning the policy in force when the claim is filed responds — not necessarily the one in force when the work was actually done. If you switch carriers or stop carrying E&O, a claim from years-old work could arrive with no policy to respond to it. Understanding your retroactive date, and considering tail coverage when you change carriers, matters as much as the coverage itself.

The Bottom Line

If you install to someone else's spec with no design input, GL may be your primary exposure. If you size, design, or make recommendations that affect performance, you need E&O alongside it. Most energy contractors need both. Get a quote and we'll walk through where your actual exposure falls — about 15 minutes, no obligation.