A large segment of the professional liability market remains untouched – not because it’s unreachable, but because it’s misunderstood. For Meagan Woensdregt (pictured), chief underwriting officer at Lions Gate Underwriting Agency, the real opportunity isn’t with existing buyers of E&O – it’s with the professionals who don’t carry it at all.
“I think the most underserved market is the non-buyers of E&O,” she said. “There is such an enormous amount of this sort of contract and micro business population that is doing a high level of consulting and doesn't carry E&O insurance.”
That exposure gap has been growing as more professionals shift to freelance and contract roles. Many of them believe their general liability (GL) policy is enough – until it isn’t. Woensdregt said that often, even the brokers handling those accounts may not fully draw the line between physical liability and professional services risk.
“It’s really, you know, us as insurance professionals who have to help provide a better level of education around where does your GL end and your professional liability exposure begin,” she said.
Much of the issue comes down to structure. Woensdregt pointed to contractors in oil and gas, engineering, and tech who may have moved from salaried roles into contract work without understanding how their coverage needs changed.
“There’s a lot of the individual contractors who maybe have worked full-time for that oil and gas company,” she said. “Then they've been put into a contractual role where they don't necessarily realize that gap in coverage that they have.”
She said many of these professionals only carry GL because it’s contractually required to be on a job site. But when their work carries consultative elements – or anything involving interpretation, data, or advisory – they’ve crossed into professional services territory. If there’s no E&O, there’s no protection.
Lions Gate focuses on the microbusiness market and deliberately avoids a digital-only approach to underwriting. Unlike many competitors racing toward fully automated platforms, the firm leans heavily on human capital and industry expertise to assess risk.
“Professional liability is so subjective. It's so difficult to sort of put within a box,” Woensdregt said. “Each professional is so different.”
She said the team of underwriters at Lions Gate is structured to reflect that complexity. Each E&O underwriter has worked across other lines – casualty, pollution, tech – giving them the ability to assess risks that don’t fit traditional molds. That background allows them to respond with more than a simple decline.
“They can be able to give you an answer better than ‘not within appetite.’ Here's the reason why we may not be able to help. But maybe you need a liability policy or a pollution policy in here,” she said.
Woensdregt admitted to a reputation for pushing frequent revisions to underwriting guidelines – at least three times a year, often more.
“Which three new professionals have we seen that we've not accounted for, and why?” she said. “How did we accommodate that exposure, within what wording? Did the pricing make sense?”
She said those constant updates are essential if Lions Gate wants to stay competitive. Unlike larger MGAs that may only refresh their frameworks annually, her team’s nimble approach means they can quickly respond to changes in the field – and keep brokers engaged with relevant, usable products.
“We have to stay innovative or we will not be able to keep in line with the much bigger MGAs out there,” she said. “We have to make sure that our product is competitive and our offer is compelling to keep the brokers coming back.”
That focus on speed, education, and specialization has positioned Lions Gate to chase a market that most E&O providers haven’t even acknowledged. It’s not about beating the competition in pricing or turnaround times – it’s about explaining to brokers and clients alike that a GL policy won’t help when the claim is about the advice given, not the damage done.
“How can we get that group of exposed micro businesses to understand and see and support them with the best product, service, education at a reasonable price?” Woensdregt said.
For brokers looking to grow their small business book, that question might be the most valuable one to ask.
