info@whinneyinsurance.co.uk

0208 659 5038

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  • Professional indemnity insurance – This is crucial. It covers you for allegations of mistakes and negligence. It provides compensation to your client (or a third-party) in circumstances where you are liable due to professional negligence, and usually covers associated defence or legal costs.
  • Cyber insurance – This mustn’t be underestimated. Even the largest companies can be hacked. You know IT security better than most but it only takes a small oversight for your systems to be compromised. We provide specialist support and our insurance will get your business back on its feet quickly if the worst happens.
  • Public and product liability – This covers physical injury and damage and can be added to packages at a low cost.
  • Employers’ liability – This will protect you from legal costs should an employee sustain a bodily injury in the course of their employment. If you have any employees it is compulsory in the UK to have employers’ liability and it can be added to packages at a low cost.
  • Computers, laptops and office equipment – We advise insuring your IT equipment from theft and destruction and can offer cover for portable IT on a worldwide basis

What insurance does an IT contractor need?

Cyber insurance helps your business get back on track in the event of a cyber-attack.

Most importantly, you need a policy that provides incident response services, such as hands-on help and support from your cyber insurers.

A specialist package should also include:

  • IT forensics – Costs associated with IT forensics and investigations.
  • Data breach – Costs associated with a data breach, including legal costs and costs covering communications with affected data subjects.
  • Regulatory and legal – Legal advice for notifying appropriate legal authorities like the Information Commissioner’s Office or national crime agency.
  • Restoration – Costs associated with the re-build or restoration of your computer systems.
  • Extortion – Costs associated with communicating and negotiating with cyber criminals who may be attempting to extort your business.
  • Business interruption – Covers your lost revenue.
  • Crime – Costs covering traditional ‘cash’ losses, for example if you have been subject to funds transfer fraud or push payment fraud. This is often a policy extension.

What does cyber insurance cover?

Insurance for this sector is usually purchased in a package or portfolio. This means the financial lines insurance form part of a single package with a single insurer. This is particularly common for small and medium-sized financial services companies, asset managers, financial institutions or venture capital companies.

The most common package combines professional indemnity, crime insurance and directors’ and officers’ insurance. Recently, some insurers have started to offer cyber insurance, and in some cases public and employers’ liability extensions.

We advise you get professional indemnity and directors’ and officers’ insurance as a minimum. In fact, depending on your Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) permissions, professional indemnity might be compulsory.

Depending on whether you handle client funds on your own platform, crime insurance might or might not add value. We can help advise you.

In recent years, we have seen an increase in claims, in part driven by social media and campaigns by some law firms, often referred to as ‘claims farmers’. These campaigns, previously focused on large investment providers, are now targeting companies of any size.

What insurance do venture capital companies need?

  • Breach of contract – Allegations software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – Incidents affecting either your systems or your client’s (where you are liable).
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – Increasingly claims are being made tactically, for instance, by clients with cash flow challenges who make unfounded allegations in a bid to get your business to write off or reduce genuine invoices.

What are the most common claims against technology companies?

The most common claims we see against telecommunications companies are related to:

  • Breach of contract – allegations the software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including matters such as missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – be it a cyber-attack on your own system or cyber-attack on the clients’ systems where they argue you are responsible for IT security.
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – we are seeing an increase in claims made, which some may argue are tactical in nature or simply a symptom of the economic environment. If a business which is a client of yours cannot afford to pay their bills and/or is having cash flow difficulties, and alternative option to paying those bills may be to make unfounded allegations your telecommunications business has been negligent or failed to provide a service. This may be with the tactic of getting your business to write off the genuine invoices or reduce them.

What are the most common claims against telecommunications companies?

The most common claims we see against Internet of Things companies are related to:

  • Breach of contract – allegations the software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including matters such as missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – be it a cyber-attack on your own system or cyber-attack on the clients’ systems where they argue you are responsible for IT security.
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – we are seeing an increase in claims made, which some may argue are tactical in nature or simply a symptom of the economic environment. If a business which is a client of yours cannot afford to pay their bills and/or is having cash flow difficulties, and alternative option to paying those bills may be to make unfounded allegations your Internet of Things business has been negligent or failed to provide a service. This may be with the tactic of getting your business to write off the genuine invoices or reduce them.

What are the most common claims against Internet of Things companies?

  • Breach of contract – Allegations software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – Incidents affecting either your systems or your client’s (where you are liable).
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – Increasingly claims are being made tactically, for instance, by clients with cash flow challenges who make unfounded allegations in a bid to get your business to write off or reduce genuine invoices.

What are the most common claims against software companies?

  • Breach of contract – Allegations software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – Incidents affecting either your systems or your client’s (where you are liable).
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – Increasingly claims are being made tactically, for instance, by clients with cash flow challenges who make unfounded allegations in a bid to get your business to write off or reduce genuine invoices.

What are the most common claims against Software as a Service companies?

  • Breach of contract – Allegations software fails to meet the contractual provisions, including missed deadlines, non-compliance, non-performance and failure to meet uptime requirements.
  • Cyber-attacks – Incidents affecting either your systems or your client’s (where you are liable).
  • Counter claims and tactical litigation – Increasingly claims are being made tactically, for instance, by clients with cash flow challenges who make unfounded allegations in a bid to get your business to write off or reduce genuine invoices.

Learn more from our post: The real risk facing software companies.

What are the most common claims against software developers?

This depends on how your business is set up.

Contract games development
Studios developing games for third parties on contract typically see claims relating to:

  • Breach of contract – Failure to meet project milestones and deadlines, often related to what is known as ‘project creep’, where clients gradually move project requirements or complicate the project, making it difficult for the developer to meet the initial deadlines.
  • Intellectual property (IP) and copyright – Confusion between the client and developer as to who is responsible for IP or copyright clearances resulting in missed licences.
  • Traditional negligence – Allegations the game fails to meet the required and expected standards.

In-house games development and publishing
For anyone publishing in-house, the main risk is always IP and copyright relating to failure to seek appropriate licences on artwork, branding, musical compositions and other graphic material.

The more serious IP claims stem from competitors, often larger companies, making allegations your game is a replica of their title, sometimes with the intention of stifling competition and preventing smaller studios from gaining a foothold in the market.

What are the most common claims against games developers?

See our FAQs Page