Professional liability insurance—sometimes called malpractice insurance or errors and omissions insurance—is insurance that may be purchased by attorneys and law firms to pay the costs of defending legal malpractice claims, and the costs of settling such claims or paying the judgment awarded to a plaintiff on such a claim. Most states do not require attorneys to purchase professional liability insurance, but some states require attorneys who do not carry professional liability insurance to provide notice to their clients of that fact. Some states require attorneys to have their clients sign a written disclosure that the attorney does not have professional liability insurance.

In Indiana, attorneys are not mandated by state law to carry professional liability insurance, also known as malpractice insurance or errors and omissions insurance. However, the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct require attorneys who do not maintain professional liability insurance to inform their clients of this lack of coverage. Specifically, Rule 1.4 of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct mandates that a lawyer who does not have professional liability insurance must communicate this fact to a client in writing at the time of the client's engagement of the lawyer, if the lawyer's representation of the client will not be limited to representation covered by the lawyer's employer's professional liability insurance. This disclosure helps ensure that clients are aware of the potential risks involved in hiring an attorney without such insurance coverage.