Consulting in the Tech Field? This is the Insurance Coverage You Need
Last year, the Pew Research Center reported that over 70% of Americans began working from home. Among them, nearly 40% said they would prefer to continue working from home, and today millions of employers are struggling to establish a setup that will work for every team.
That said, many digital consultants have worked remotely for years, and know all too well the issues that this kind of work presents. While there are certain freedoms that come with consulting or offering technology services as a freelancer or small business owner, you’ll also be held liable for any mistakes and perceived issues by the client. Lending your expertise can shine a light on your unique skillset, but it also comes with the expectation that you’re able to transform a business and offer unmatched results. This can create a lot of pressure for you and your team, and lead to difficult conversations — or lawsuits — should you fail to provide said results. Luckily, finding the resources — and insurance coverage — to prepare for these risks has never been easier.
So, whether you’re venturing out on your own, or have been in consulting for a few years as a developer, computer consultant, IT consultant, or offering typing services or general technology services, read on to learn about the insurance coverage you’ll need.
What type of insurance do tech consultants need?
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability policies are designed to protect your business when clients claim that your work or services ultimately led to their own financial hardship. Most often, these claims will point to a glaring mistake made by your business or a failure to perform a certain service (this is why this type of coverage is often referred to as Errors & Omissions insurance coverage).
Professional liability insurance is often required not only by clients but also state law. For computer consultants or IT consultants, one wrong line of code could disrupt your client’s payment portal, timed sale, or push notification schedule and leave your company liable for an incredible loss. To avoid any such risk — and cover every possible misstep — it’s important to always secure professional liability insurance.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance and professional liability insurance complement each other. After securing coverage in each domain, you’ll see protection against the majority of claims that could arise — and be able to focus on the work at hand.
General liability insurance will protect your business against any claims filed and concerning personal injury, property damage, or bodily injury. If you have an office or location that clients visit in order to meet with you, then you need general liability. You may also want this coverage if you meet in person with a client to provide services. Let’s say you set up some hardware in a client’s home or business location. If they trip and fall over the equipment, they could sue you for damages claiming your set up caused them harm. Or while you were setting up hardware you accidentally damaged something of theirs. In situations like this, general liability insurance will help cover medical expenses, attorney fees, and the costs of replacing damaged property. The coverage applies on your location or anywhere you are providing services.
If you’re certain that your line of work presents few opportunities for property damage or personal injury, don’t think that you can get away with skipping general liability insurance coverage altogether. Instead, you can rest assured that your lower risk profile and positive track record will only help you secure proper coverage at a lower rate even more easily.
Cyber Liability Insurance
Today, it’s important for any consultant to secure cyber liability insurance (also called cyber security insurance) but for those working in IT services or general technology services, there’s no way to work without it. There’s no way to predict whether your company will be the victim of a cyber-crime and the last few years have seen a tremendous surge in the presence and distribution of ransomware, general phishing scams, and corrupted data.
Even if you don’t think your company is a likely target, any business collecting their clients’ (or customers’) payment info is at risk. From there, even if your company is simply indexing user emails or tracking consumer insights, this data could be targeted and swiped from your company’s cloud.
Cyber liability insurance will not only protect your team but also cover any issue that may arise from sharing info with a client or third party. When you’re consulting for a large company — even if that just means offering typing services or acting as a general computer consultant — you can be held responsible for any data breach, hack, or virus that puts your client at risk.
Finally, if you’re still not convinced consider the fact that a cyber-attack can easily cost your company upwards of $200,000 and today, the global average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million!
Next Steps
While many may start to make the move back to the office, it’s important to secure coverage for your digital team no matter where you’re working. Don’t wait until you’ve encountered a problem, and don’t gamble with your company’s cyber security. Instead, look to NOW Insurance to begin securing the coverage you need and explore accessible rates.
NOW insurance makes insurance simple, fast, and affordable for small businesses and consultants. It takes less than three minutes to receive a quote from our easy online application where we quickly calculate the total amount of coverage you need and can help you discover solutions to problems you may not have even thought of. Contact us with any questions you have about coverage.