IT Professionals typical cover
None of the regulatory bodies involved in the computing industry lay down set requirements for Professional Indemnity Insurance, however many of the consultants and advisors working in the industry are exposed to the possibility of claims, from breach of copyright through to negligent advice. It makes sense therefore to purchase at least some Professional Indemnity cover.
Typically cover will include professional negligence, Negligent misstatement or negligent misrepresentation, Infringement of intellectual property rights, Breach of confidence, misuse of confidential information and Defamation. Policies will often extend to include cover for dishonesty of employees.
IT Professionals need to be very careful to ensure that they have provided a clear breakdown of their activities as the professional indemnity policy will only cover the range of business practices advised to insurers when the policy is incepted.
Cover can extend to include items such as failure of software to be fit for purpose.
Whilst many IT consultants work only in the UK, their work can have global exposure and it is therefore important to ensure that the geographical and jurisdiction limits are suitable for the work being undertaken. It is possible to arrange worldwide cover, however cover for the USA and Canada is often restrictive and the price can be prohibitive.
If work is carried out in areas where the technology involved is used in medical applications or environments such as gyms or to control machinery the policy may need to cover bodily injury or property damage arising out of negligence. This extension is often an additional cover option rather than given as standard
Typical policy exclusions will include Date recognition, Failure of any inherent defect in a third party product, Onerous Contracts or contractual terms (e.g. fines, fixed penalties) EMU and Consequential losses.