IT professionals such as computer consultants, web designers, programmers, system integrators, etc. face lawsuit risks from their clients and users of their client’s services. The most common sources and corresponding insurance policies are outlined below:
1. Bodily Injury And Property Damage Liability (General Liability)
2. Personal Injury And Advertising Injury Liability (General Liability or Errors & Omissions Liability)
3. Negligent Acts, Errors, Omissions In Performance Of Professional Services Resulting In Economic Damages (Errors & Omissions Liability)
4. Intellectual Property Infringements such as copyright, trademark, etc. (Media Liability)
5. Breach Of Security (Unauthorized Access, Computer Virus, Denial Of Service)
We were recently approached by a small tech prospect who requested a $10,000,000 Errors & Omissions Liability limit (AKA Professional Liability) to comply with contractual requirements of a project owner. Our primary E&O market for tech accounts is approved to handle limits only up to $5,000,000. Our MGA provided quote indications for an excess layer for an additional $5,000,000 from two carriers. However, the minimum premiums for this excess layer were $25,000 and $30,000 respectively.
Any carrier providing a limit approaching $10,000,000 will be wary of why the project owner would require such a high limit in the first place. This is likely to be a red flag that the type of work is high risk and as a result the underwriters will closely scrutinize such a submission.
