One of the main issue is uncertainty over fair vs. unfair liability. Fair liability occurs when a home inspector was negligent in the course of an inspection. Unfair liability occurs when a home inspector was not negligent and yet is being pursued. Both of these situations are common.

Damages caused by inspector carelessness. Examples of this are many: An inspector breaks a vase, damages a tile roof, forgets to turn off the oven, overflows a second-floor bathtub, cracks a window, turns off the power to the meat freezer, falls through the ceiling while inspecting the attic, drops a flashlight on someone's head, tracks mud onto the new carpet, lets the parrot out of its cage, etc.

The home inspection occurs during dry summer weather. After the sale, winter rains cause flooding below the building, or leaking around the windows, or wetness inside the fireplace. The seller had masked all symptoms of past water problems, preventing the home inspector from detecting these conditions. The inspector could not have known, but so what? Someone has to pay for waterproofing the house. It's not fair that the buyer should have to pay, so why not the inspector?