General Liability insurance is a must-have for web programmers. With the responsibility that comes with creating or modifying scripts and code to be used online, most programmers realize this.  What many programmers aren’t aware of, however, is that even with General Liability, there are certain risks that they are still not protected from.

As you know, web programming requires not only the ability to program code to create a web application that functions as expected; a successful web programmer must also thoroughly test the application before deployment, and must be continuously aware of current methods used by would-be hackers.

These common situations easily create financial vulnerabilities for web programmers:

• A period placed incorrectly in a math formula could cause e-commerce sites to charge incorrect dollar amounts on an e-commerce site you built for a customer.
• Your code may not prevent SQL Injection… meaning the data your code retrieves is susceptible to deletion or viewing by unauthorized parties.
• An accidental button click could delete a web page, causing your customer’s site to not function and cause them financial loss.

These situations, while they would not be covered by General Liability because there is no damage to a person or to property, are all examples of what would be covered by a Technology E&O Policy.

Simply put, General Liability offers coverage for claims that involve injury to a person’s body, damage to property, and personal or advertising injury (think slander, or defamation of character).  Technology E&O, on the other hand, covers claims related to mistakes made while a service was being provided that resulted in financial loss or damage (but did not result in bodily injury or property damage.)

As you can see, it’s critical for a web programmer to have both types of policies. The primary concern for most programmers is cost… but you can actually get both policies for as little as $110/month or a total of $1100, a small cost for complete financial coverage.

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