Software developer insurance

What is software developer insurance?

Software developer insurance isn’t a single product. It is a combination of covers designed to protect against different risks arising from your profession or business.

Professional indemnity can cover certain claims arising from your professional advice or services, such as negligent advice, misrepresentation or intellectual property infringement.

Cyber cover can take care of claims arising out of the operation, failure, availability or security of software, computer systems or electronic data.

You may also want public liability insurance if you meet clients face-to-face, portable electronics insurance for your computer equipment, and employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone.

Why do software developers need insurance?

As a software developer, the code you develop will often benefit customers for many years into the future. However, as systems become complex, your software test plans may only catch some possible bugs before your code is deployed to production.

Your code is causing havoc

As an application developer, there's always a chance your code could go wrong. If, at some point, your work goes on to cause havoc, there’s always a risk your client could come after you for compensation.

Accusation of causing a financial loss

An online shop sells products below their intended price. A stock system shows items as unavailable when they’re sitting in the warehouse. If your code is blamed for lost sales or revenue, your client could take legal action.

Damage to your work equipment

Losing or damaging your work laptop can be expensive and impact your business. Home insurance may not cover business equipment used at home.

Professional indemnity insurance for software developers

Professional indemnity insurance  can protect software developers against certain claims arising from their professional advice or services.

Suited’s professional indemnity policy is designed to respond to claims alleging matters such as a breach of professional duty, negligent advice, a negligent misstatement or misrepresentation, intellectual property infringement or defamation, subject to the policy terms and exclusions.

What does software developer professional indemnity insurance cover?

Professional indemnity insurance protects software developers from claims or accusations of wrongdoing from their professional advice or work product.

Cover may include claims alleging that you:

• Breached your professional duty
• Provided negligent professional advice or recommendations
• Infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights

For example:

• A client alleges that your technical advice or recommendation was negligent and caused them financial loss.
• A client claims that an error in a professional report or written specification caused them to incur avoidable costs.
• A third party alleges that work supplied as part of your professional services infringes its intellectual property rights.

What professional indemnity does not cover

Professional indemnity does not cover claims arising from matters such as:

• software or a computer system failing or becoming unavailable
• loss, corruption or unauthorised disclosure of electronic data
• hacking or unauthorised access to a computer system
• a security weakness or vulnerability in software
• the transmission of a virus or malicious software
• a breach of data protection law.

These risks are not typically covered by professional indemnity policy, even where they are alleged to have resulted from a mistake, error, omission or negligence in your work.

Does professional indemnity insurance cover my software development activities worldwide?

Your professional indemnity policy's ‘territory or geographical limits’ and ‘jurisdiction’ sections specify if your software developer insurance will respond when working in different countries.

Territory or geographical limits:

The territory or geographical limit specifies where you can virtually or physically deliver your services. For example: “Worldwide.”

Jurisdictional limit:

The jurisdictional limit specifies which legal jurisdictions your policy will defend you if you are sued. For example: “Worldwide excluding US and Canada.”

Contract governance:

The contracts you enter into with your clients may specify the ‘governing law’ — the law that applies to the agreement — and the ‘jurisdiction’, which determines where legal disputes can be heard.

These terms can affect whether a claim is covered by your software developer professional indemnity insurance, as some policies exclude certain governing laws or jurisdictions.

If you work with US or Canadian clients, your contracts won’t necessarily be governed by US or Canadian law. This depends on the terms you agree with your client.

Cancelling your professional indemnity insurance

If you decide to cancel your professional indemnity insurance, bear in mind that claims can arise long after you’ve finished the work. Once your policy is cancelled or expires, it generally won’t cover new claims against you, even if the work was done while you were insured.

Finished working or taking a break? Ask us about Suited’s hibernation option.

Public liability insurance for software developers

Public liability insurance shields software developers from claims of injuries or property damage.

If you're a software developer who meets clients in person, consider getting public liability insurance to protect yourself from unexpected incidents. It's affordable and can cover expenses like legal defence or damages to someone else's property.

What does software developer public liability insurance cover?

Public liability insurance is valuable when faced with injury claims and compensation demands.

Cover includes:

• accidental injury or death
• accidental property damage

For example:

• A client visits your premises and is injured in a slip or fall 
• You visit a client site and damage equipment by knocking over a coffee 

Other insurance software developers buy

As a software developer, the insurance you require will vary depending on your circumstances. Consider if you have the means to replace your computer equipment if it is lost, damaged, or stolen. If you have employees you might need employers' liability. And what about cyber risks?

Portable electronics insurance

Consider portable electronics insurance. In this line of business, you are bound to be heavily reliant on all things electronic. Whether this equipment is yours or hired, you will be faced with the cost of repair or replacement should an accident happen.

If your laptop is expensive and you carry it everywhere, the risk of losing or breaking it is higher.

Software developers rely on electronic equipment to deliver their services more than ever. If the business equipment is essential to your work, consider whether the cost of repair or replacement would be better to protect by insurance.

Cyber insurance for software developers

Cyber insurance is designed for risks involving software, computer systems, electronic data and online security.

For a software developer, these could include:

• a weakness in code allowing someone to gain unauthorised access to a computer system
• software, a website or another computer system failing or becoming unavailable
• electronic data being lost, corrupted, stolen or disclosed without permission
• the transmission of a virus or other malicious software
• hacking or another malicious attack
• a breach or alleged breach of data protection law

Cyber insurance isn’t available through our online quote process, but we can help arrange it. Get in touch to discuss cover for your software development activities.

Employers liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance can cover compensation and legal costs if an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their work and you’re held legally responsible.

Bear in mind that UK policies typically cover UK-based employees only. If you employ software developers who live and work in another country, you may need a different insurance arrangement for those employees.

Software developers we insure

Suited offers comprehensive insurance policies that cater to the needs of a wide range of software developers, including:

• Computer games designers
• Computer programmers
• Software consultants
• Software contractors
• Software engineers
• Website developers
• Mobile application developers
• and more..