Insurance for IT companies, contractors and consultants

As an IT consultant or contractor, your unique set of skills and expertise is invaluable - yet it can also open up the door to a number of inherent risks.

From handling high-value equipment and confidential data to providing crucial advice to your clients, your role is a delicate balance of responsibility and liability. In the event of a mistake or an unforeseen incident, such as a data leak or accidental damage at a client's premises, the financial and reputational repercussions can be significant.

That's where IT business insurance comes in. It can safeguard your business against these potential pitfalls, help you mitigate the financial impact of any claims or legal proceedings and ensure that in the face of adversity, your business can swiftly return to normal operations.

But how do you know exactly what insurance your IT business requires? That’s where our unique Risk HealthCheck comes in! It takes just 5 minutes to complete and is designed to tell business owners like you exactly what insurance you need based on your specific needs and current circumstances.

Take our Risk HealthCheck now and find out what insurance your IT business might need:

Take the free, no-obligation HealthCheck now

What people are saying about our HealthCheck

Peter Quintana

Director, hgkc

The risk profile generated by the SenseRisk insurance HealthCheck is a simple and easy way to start exploring the insurances you might need for your business, and a great place to start the conversation with a SenseRisk Advisor.

Emma Bayley

Bayley HR Associates

I found the HealthCheck Platform a great tool to use when looking to understand what risks my business my face and what insurances to consider, it was very informative.

As business owners we don’t always think of the bigger and wider picture of what is maybe required when setting up company/employer insurance.

Greg Dodimead

Owner, Brand Affiniti

I thought the HealthCheck Platform was very helpful and it confirmed that I have the right level of cover in place with SenseRisk already; It also recommended others I may need in future.

The HealthCheck was user friendly and got me to consider scenarios of future growth within my business and the potential risks they could pose and the right level of cover to deal with those changes.

Rose Sellman-Leava

Director and Co-founder, Inclusive Futures CIC

Sense Risk and their HealthCheck platform have been incredibly useful to us and our new business. The platform breaks down everything you might want to think about when looking at insurance in a really simple way. As a new business owner, you have to wear so many hats, and so it’s helpful when you can pass something as important as insurance over to the experts! The Sense Risk team are then on hand to support the whole insurance process in a really friendly and jargon-free way. I literally wouldn’t do insurance any other way!

Who needs IT business insurance?

If your work in the IT sector involves regularly visiting client’s premises, handling expensive equipment, accessing and managing large amounts of client data or being responsible for the ongoing business operations of your client, then you may well benefit from the financial protection and peace of mind that business insurance can offer.

This often includes:

IT consultants
IT contractors
IT support workers
IT companies

HealthCheck your business now!

Get a clearer picture of the risks your business might face.

Take our Risk HealthCheck

What types of IT insurance do I need?

As the IT sector is so varied and diverse, the exact type of cover you need will depend on a lot of factors – such as the type of work you do, what equipment you use, where you meet your clients and how many employees you have.

Depending on your business activities and specific needs, you could benefit from the following types of insurance:

Professional Indemnity insurance

This can provide cover if you make any errors that lead to a financial loss for the client, and can cover costs associated with a legal defence and compensation payments.

As well as covering against professional errors or omissions, Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance can also provide cover for unintentional infringement of others’ intellectual property (excluding patents and trade secrets) or unintentional defamation, libel, and slander.

Public Liability insurance

This can offer cover for accidents you cause during your normal business activities that result in third-party property damage or injury.

This could be as simple as spilling coffee on a client’s laptop during a visit to their office, or a client tripping over wires and badly injuring themselves during a visit to your workplace.

If you regularly meet with clients or deal with members of the public for work, then you should consider a Public Liability insurance policy for peace of mind that your business is protected financially should an accident happen.

Equipment insurance

Whether you just need a standard laptop to do your work, or expensive IT equipment such as computers and servers, it can be a good idea to make sure it’s all covered.

What would the impact be on your ability to work if your equipment was stolen or damaged? An equipment insurance policy can help you keep working with minimum disruption should the worst happen.

Employers’ Liability insurance

If your IT company has any employees, then you are legally required to have a minimum of £5 million Employers’ Liability insurance.

This can protect your business in case any member of staff suffers an injury or illness related to their work, and can provide cover for legal fees and compensation payouts.

For the purposes of Employers’ Liability insurance, a member of staff includes PAYE employees, directors, self-employed workers, labour-only workers, voluntary and temporary staff – anyone whose work you control.

There are many other forms of insurance that your IT business might want to consider, including:

Cyber insurance – Protection in case your business is a victim of cybercrime and incurs losses such as forensic, legal and notification costs as well as ransomware payments and any loss of income that you may suffer.
Management Liability insurance – Protecting your management team and the business for failing in their duties including legal defence for statutory breaches and other unintentional wrongful acts committed individually or by the company.
Intellectual Property Infringement insurance – This can cover costs if you have to defend a claim of IP theft (including patents, trade secrets, trademarks etc) or to pursue a claim if your IP has been stolen or infringed upon.
Business Interruption insurance – Protection for lost income or increased costs following damage to your business premises. This can include: lost profits, wages, increased trading costs following damage caused by specified events such as fire, flood or theft.
Legal Expenses insurance - Helping you manage the legal costs of certain business matters such as disputes with employees, customers or suppliers.