Technology Errors & Omissions Insurance
Embroker helps you get tech E&O insurance to protect your company should your service or product fail to meet your customers’ demands.
Index
What Is Tech E&O Insurance?
Tech E&O insurance is a specialized insurance product that was created to protect the specific professional liability risks that people operating in the technology industry commonly face.
Errors & omissions insurance is often called professional liability insurance. It’s also commonly referred to as malpractice insurance, especially when it is protecting service professionals such as accountants, architects, lawyers, and consultants.
A professional liability insurance policy will help cover the legal costs that can amass if a client decides that they want to sue you because they believe that an error or miscalculation you made while performing services for them has caused them to suffer a loss of some kind, usually financial.
Many industries with very specific risks have insurance products that are tailored to a specific profession; legal professional liability insurance and medical malpractice insurance, for example.
The same goes for the technology industry. Tech E&O insurance policies are designed to protect from risks that are commonly associated with tech companies, which is currently one of the fastest-growing industries in the world economy.
For example, if your technology company is hired to get a company’s e-commerce store up and running by the holiday season and you fail to do so, or the store isn’t functional, your company can be sued for damages incurred by your client which can be directly traced back to the errors or negligence of your company.
If your technology product or service fails or it doesn’t work the way it was supposed to, your clients and customers can sue you for damages. When this occurs, a tech E&O insurance policy will pay for legal expenses and indemnity payments related to the claim.
A typical tech E&O insurance policy covers legal fees, court costs, court fees, settlement payments, and legal judgments.
Who Is Tech E&O Insurance For?
Risk management experts who specialize in providing the right coverage for technology companies commonly cite tech E&O insurance as one of the most important policies and an essential piece of the puzzle when putting together a good tech startup insurance package.
Tech E&O insurance was created to provide coverage for companies that are working in cutting-edge fields and offering services and products that can impact third parties in a way that requires a new, modern approach to assessing liability and providing coverage for risks that are less tangible and traditional.
Some examples industries and business that tech E&O insurance is most beneficial for:
- Software developers, including mobile and web developers
- IT contractors
- Businesses that manufacture electronic hardware
- Technology startups
- Ecommerce businesses
- SaaS providers
- Sales tech companies
- Fintech companies
- And many more
That’s why it can be said that any company that offers any type of technology service or product should purchase this coverage.
Whether you are building websites for clients, providing cloud storage for third parties, creating and selling software as a service (SaaS) products, or even offering consulting services to technology companies, it would be wise to purchase tech errors & omissions coverage for your company.
Why Do You Need a Tech E&O Insurance Policy?
If you are running a tech company, especially a startup that might be looking to attract investors, tech E&O should be one of your primary concerns when it comes to putting together the right insurance package.
Along with cyber liability insurance, which is another vital coverage that is often bundled with tech errors & omissions (that’s how our Embroker startup package offers these coverages), professional liability is a must for tech companies.
Any company that is working in a cutting-edge industry and offers services and products that are pushing the envelope and exploring new territory needs to purchase this coverage because it was created to cover these less tangible and untraditional risks that modern tech companies often face.
Tech Errors & Omissions vs. Cyber Liability Insurance
Businesses often confuse tech errors & omissions and cyber liability insurance because they both cover cyber risks. However, the coverage of each tackles problems associated with cyber risks from different perspectives.
Every technology company should purchase both policies because if your company doesn’t have both types of coverage, claims can get very complicated. That’s why most will purchase a tech E&O policy that includes cyber coverage.
Cyberattacks are incredibly common today and are the top risk that technology companies face. If a cyberattack does occur that results in third-party information being comprised, you will more than likely be sued.
If the cyberattack’s success was related to your company’s negligence or an error that your company made, then a technology E&O policy would cover all associated costs and losses.
However, it is determined that the cyberattack and ensuing data breach was not your company’s fault, the associated costs would then be covered by your cyber liability insurance policy.
A cyber liability policy will cover costs related to investigating the cyberattack, notifying affected third parties, possible regulatory fines, third-party credit monitoring, PR efforts if your company suffered reputational damage because of the breach, and even ransom payments in the case of a ransomware attack.
That’s why it is crucial for tech companies and software development companies to have both, in order to avoid potentially costly gaps in coverage.
Analyzing Insurance Costs for Startups
Embroker Vertical Insurance Index
How much are you paying for your insurance? Are you purchasing the right policies? Find out what founders are doing, and the trends that you may not have seen.
What Does Tech E&O Insurance Cover?
Early-stage startups and other young tech companies that don’t really have a lot of revenue coming in yet may not be able to survive a costly financial claim or court case. Even startups that have received venture funding usually aren’t profitable yet.
That’s why having insurance to protect your company from possible financial losses is so important.
Startups and other tech companies that are just getting started need to make every penny count. That means investing wisely and spending more conservatively — and a liability claim can be devastating if the company doesn’t have insurance.
The company doesn’t even have to lose the case to lose a lot of money. Court proceedings and trials related to tech companies are often complex and can take a long time to resolve, during which time legal fees and defense costs can pile up.
Tech E&O/Cyber insurance provides coverage for claims alleging financial injury as a result of the failure of your service or software to perform as intended.
Cyber insurance provides coverage for both the first-party expenses arising out of a data breach and any ensuing liability claims brought against the company as a result of that data breach.
Here are a few examples of the types of liability claims that are often filed against tech startups. For more, read our full article on common Tech E&O claims.
Cyber Liability
In today’s world, nearly every business is at risk of a cyber attack. Even if you have the best security measures in place, there’s always a chance that something could go wrong, including data breaches, cyber theft, and cyber vandalism.
That’s why it’s so important to have adequate cyber insurance in place. Without it, you could be left footing the bill for tens of thousands of dollars — or more.
Our Tech E&O policy form includes the following cyber liability enhancements that other leading carriers do not offer:
-
Express coverage for breach of contract claims
-
Software copyright code infringement
-
Return of fees as damages
-
Contingent bodily injury and property damage coverage
Contractual Liability
If your company has signed a contract promising a feature, service, or product to be completed and delivered by a certain date and your company is unable to do so, you could be sued for contractual liability.
And if your client can easily prove that their business suffered financial losses as a result of your inability to make good on your contractual obligation, your company will have a hard time winning the claim.
Professional Negligence
Products that tech companies develop can easily cause problems for a large number of customers and users if a mistake gets released into production.
For example, if your tech company creates software that damages your client’s computer in some way when it’s installed, a claim can be filed against your tech company for professional negligence.
What’s Not Covered?
As is the case with most types of insurance, there are certain exclusions that a tech E&O policy usually will not cover.
Most notably, professional liability will not cover claims that are the direct result of you or your employees engaging in criminal activity or illegal acts.
Financial insolvency is also not covered by a tech E&O policy.
Also, most professional liability policies will not cover copyright infringement or libel claims either. If you need this coverage, you should add intellectual property insurance to your company’s tech E&O coverage.
What Does Tech E&O Insurance Cost?
Just like any other business insurance product that your company needs to purchase, several factors will determine the premium your company will have to pay for Tech E&O insurance:
Revenue
The more revenue a company has, the more it’s exposed to claims and demands, meaning higher premiums. For early-stage startups whose revenue is hard to project, insurers will often consider the physical business offices or payroll.
Location
Companies located in metropolitan hubs (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.) will have to pay more than those located in less populated areas.
Claims history
If your business has a history of E&O claims, your insurer will expect you to pay more for coverage.
Limits
Quite simply – the higher the limit, the higher the premium will be. Given how expensive and damaging technology E&O claims can be, it’s better to get a higher limit than might be needed than to be left without coverage mid an expensive lawsuit.
Amount of Deductible
How much the company will have to pay from its own funds before the policy payout kicks in. A high deductible means lower premiums. As policy limits get higher, insurers will typically demand that be followed with a higher deductible.
However, no insurer will ask for an unreasonably high deductible. They’ll limit the deductible to what they believe the insured company can pay – typically based on last year’s revenue figures.
Startup Insurance Calculator
Find out how much your startup can expect to pay for key insurance coverages.
Why Get It With Embroker?
Easy.
With Embroker, the entire process of purchasing tech E&O insurance is digital. Secure your coverage in minutes instead of the days it could take through traditional channels.
Affordable.
We pass on savings to our clients but cutting out the overhead costs of unnecessary administration. You’ll get market-leading coverage at the best possible price.
Complete.
Embroker offers the broadest coverage in the industry and the ability to tailor your tech E&O and all other policies to the specific needs of your tech company.
Human.
We provide you with expert support no matter your question: Reach us 24/7 via phone, email or live chat. You even get a personal account manager to look after you and your insurance needs.
Still In Doubt?
What About Excess Insurance?
Excess insurance is a way to increase the amount of coverage you have for a given policy. If you need to file a claim with your current policy and your carrier pays 100% of what you are due, but you have more incurred costs than your primary policy covers, your excess policy can help cover these additional costs.
You may need excess for contractual compliance reasons or your business may provide a product or service with a high risk profile, increasing your need for protection in case of lawsuits and losses.
Why Do You Need Excess Tech E&O / Cyber?
In today’s risk landscape more and more companies are exposed to technological and cyber risks than ever before. As businesses increasingly take advantage of the cloud, online platforms and tools, and 100% digital workflows, cyber and technological errors and omissions risk increase as well. Data breaches, data loss, loss of transferred funds, and any court proceedings or lawsuits that ensue can interrupt business, and stunt the growth of your organization. Your existing Tech E&O and Cyber insurance policies might not be enough to cover what this evolving landscape has in store.
Additionally, startups with better insurance coverage are more attractive to investors. According to Embroker’s recent Cyber Risk Index Report, nearly half (49%) of startup founders cite cybersecurity insurance protections as required by their investors, their board or both. And a staggering 97% of founders discuss their cyber protections and issues with investors and board members — that’s how vital this coverage is to them.
In light of this, you may need excess for:
- Contractual compliance. You may need to carry specific limits to meet the contractual requirements of your customers.
- High risk products or services. You may be required to purchase higher limits to protect yourself if your technology service or product (software, hardware, component part, etc.) is not delivered, is delivered late, or fails to perform, etc. and causes a client to sue.
- Risk transfer. You may want to transfer specific risk away from your balance sheet to a third party (i.e. an insurance carrier)
Is cyber risk on the rise?
Read our 2022 Cyber Risk Index Report to find out what businesses are worried about, how they’re protecting themselves, and what the future holds.
What Does Excess Tech E&O / Cyber Cover?
Excess Tech E&O / Cyber follows the form of your existing coverage. This means that the same risks outlined in your primary insurance policy are covered. For Embroker’s Excess Tech E&O / Cyber product, if the Underlying Aggregate Limit is $1M, you can apply for $1M or $2M excess limits; if the Underlying Aggregate Limit is $2M, you can apply for $1M, $2M or $3M excess limits, and so on, as illustrated in the graphic below:
Embroker’s Excess Tech E&O / Cyber
No need to call multiple carriers and submit multiple applications to get A-rated excess coverage. Embroker’s 100% digital quoting experience allows users to add excess coverage to their standalone Tech E&O or Tech E&O + Cyber policies.
Luckily, Embroker accepts more than 30 primary insurance carriers, including insurtechs.
At a time where insurtechs are taking over an increasing stake in the business insurance market, Embroker’s ability to write over insurtechs is especially helpful. Embroker does just that, making the process of purchasing Excess coverage easy and efficient.
Embroker is able to both match an existing limit or exceed it, depending on your risks and what you need.
What do I need to apply:
First, you’ll need either an underlying Tech E&O + Cyber policy or a standalone Tech E&O policy from a carrier other than Embroker. (Please note: Users are not eligible to purchase standalone Excess Cyber.)
Also, Embroker’s excess coverage cannot be written over an Embroker primary policy, meaning you need to have a primary Tech E&O and Cyber policy from another carrier before applying for Excess.
Documents required:
- Primary Quote Letter for your existing coverage(s)
- Primary Application for your existing coverage(s)
- Excess Quote Letter(s), if applicable
- Contact information (name, email, phone number) for the Applicant/Insured
Ready to start an application? Click here
Get your Tech Errors & Omissions insurance quote in less than 10 minutes
“We enjoy working with Embroker and are appreciative that the policies are tailored to our business.”
Norman Serrano
Cape Productions
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It!
With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70+ Embroker is the highest rated business insurance company in the market.
NPS Score 2023
