My Account
We compare quotes from leading technology insurers
INSURANCE DESIGNED FOR SOFTWARE COMPANIES & TECH CONTRACTORS
Why Software Company & Contractor Insurance Matters
Whether you run a software company or work as an independent software contractor, the code, platforms and services you provide are mission-critical for your customers. Outages, bugs, performance issues, data breaches, missed milestones or failed integrations can quickly translate into lost revenue, contract disputes and legal claims. Insure24’s Software Company & Contractor Insurance is designed for SaaS businesses, software product and platform companies, custom development houses, and individual engineers, architects and DevOps contractors – combining Technology E&O, Professional Indemnity, Cyber, Public Liability, Employers’ Liability and more in one coherent programme.
What Software Company & Contractor Insurance Can Cover
A technology-focused insurance solution that reflects the reality of building, maintaining and supporting software products, platforms and projects.
- Technology Errors & Omissions – claims that software, systems or services didn’t perform as expected.
- Professional Indemnity – allegations of negligent design, specification, advice or configuration.
- Failure of service – missed SLAs, outages or performance issues (subject to wording).
- Contract disputes – some claims relating to deliverables, scope and acceptance criteria.
- IP and copyright – certain claims around infringement or misuse of third-party code or libraries.
- Defamation and media – relevant online content and communications risks.
- Cyber & data liability – privacy breaches, data incidents and security failures.
- Regulatory investigations – certain associated defence costs (subject to policy wording).
- Public Liability – third-party injury or property damage at client premises.
- Employers’ Liability – for staff, engineers, testers and labour-only contractors.
- Property & contents – offices, kit, development environments and servers (where insurable).
- Business interruption – loss of income following insured events affecting your operations.
Typical Risks Software Companies & Contractors Face
Modern software is complex, interconnected and heavily relied upon – when something breaks, blame often lands on the developer or vendor.
- A SaaS platform outage causes lost sales or failed transactions for customers.
- A bug in production corrupts data or causes billing errors.
- An integration with a third-party API fails and customers cannot use a key feature.
- Performance issues under real-world load impact user experience and churn.
- A contractor’s configuration change triggers downtime for a critical system.
- Clients claim your estimates, roadmap or technical advice led them to make costly decisions.
- Security vulnerabilities are exploited, exposing data your system processes or stores.
- Multiple vendors are involved and disputes start over who is responsible for an incident.
- Open-source components or third-party libraries are later alleged to infringe IP.
- A feature release goes wrong and rollback procedures fail.
- Client acceptance criteria were not clearly documented and are disputed later.
- Cloud services or infrastructure providers experience issues that your customers blame on you.
- A contractor or employee accidentally discloses confidential technical or business information.
- You are asked to sign onerous contracts with broad, uncapped indemnities and SLAs.
- Lack of clear change control and documentation makes it difficult to defend yourself.
- Incidents years after deployment are still connected back to your code or design decisions.
Why Software Companies & Contractors Choose Insure24
- Understanding of SaaS, cloud, on-prem, hybrid and API-driven products.
- Experience placing cover for early-stage startups through to mature software businesses.
- Policies suitable for software contractors working outside IR35 via limited companies.
- Access to insurers specialising in technology E&O and cyber risk.
- Joined-up approach to PI, Tech E&O, Cyber, PL, EL and Directors’ & Officers’ cover.
- Support reviewing customer contracts, MSAs and partner agreements from an insurance angle.
- Claims guidance when incidents or disputes arise with your customers.
- Flexible cover that can scale as you add users, revenue and team members.
- Options for monthly payment to help manage cash flow in growing businesses.
- A broker focused on commercial insurance for specialist service and tech businesses.
How to Arrange Software Company & Contractor Insurance
- 1. Discovery call – we understand your business, product, tech stack and clients.
- 2. Information gathering – turnover, funding stage, user base, contracts and geographies.
- 3. Services & architecture review – SaaS, on-prem, APIs, integrations, data flows and support model.
- 4. Contract review – SLAs, uptime commitments, indemnities and limitation of liability clauses.
- 5. Market approach – we present your profile to specialist technology insurers.
- 6. Recommendation – cover structure, limits, deductibles and any territory/jurisdiction nuances.
- 7. Documentation – quick issue of policies and certificates for customers, partners and investors.
- 8. Ongoing support – regular reviews as your product, team and contracts evolve.
Insurance for Different Types of Software Businesses & Contractors
From seed-stage SaaS to established software vendors and independent contractors, we tailor cover to how you actually operate.
SaaS, Platform & Product Companies
- B2B and B2C SaaS products across multiple sectors.
- Vertical industry platforms and line-of-business applications.
- Multi-tenant cloud platforms with significant user bases.
- Usage-based and subscription models with SLAs and uptime commitments.
- White-label and OEM software used inside larger corporate offerings.
Custom Software & Development Houses
- Bespoke development for enterprises, SMEs and scale-ups.
- Integration, migration and re-platforming projects.
- Front-end, back-end and full-stack development services.
- Ongoing support, maintenance and managed services.
- Agile delivery models with evolving scope and change requests.
Independent Software & Tech Contractors
Ideal for: developers, engineers, architects, DevOps, SRE, testers and technical leads working via limited company.
- Outside IR35 contractors providing specialist skills to end-clients or consultancies.
- Engineers working on critical systems, infrastructure and platforms.
- Contractors rotating across projects, industries and tech stacks.
- Opportunities to package PI, Cyber, PL and EL in one contractor-friendly solution.
- Cover structured around your day rate, responsibilities and client base.
High-Growth & Investor-Backed Tech Businesses
Ideal for: VC-backed or PE-backed software companies scaling quickly.
- Support with insurance requirements in term sheets and investor due diligence.
- Higher limits as you sign larger enterprise customers and partners.
- Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) cover alongside PI, Cyber and core insurances.
- Regular programme reviews as ARR, headcount and geographies expand.
- Support preparing for major contracts, tenders and potential exit events.
Understanding Risk for Software Companies & Contractors
Technology risk is a mix of code quality, architecture, operations, security, contracts and expectations.
Technical & Operational Risk
Real-world usage often surfaces scenarios no test environment anticipated.
- Complex interactions between microservices, APIs and third-party components.
- Shadow IT and unrecorded changes impacting production systems.
- Resource constraints affecting development, testing and incident response.
- Drift between design, documentation and the system as actually implemented.
- Customer behaviour and data volumes far exceeding initial assumptions.
Legal, Contractual & Commercial Risk
Your contracts and communications frame how customers interpret “failure” and liability.
- Broad indemnities and onerous uptime SLAs written into MSAs and enterprise deals.
- Disputes over what was in scope, what was “best endeavours” and what was guaranteed.
- Misalignment between sales promises and what engineering can realistically deliver.
- Cross-border customers, governing law provisions and jurisdiction clauses.
- Investor, board and partner expectations around risk, compliance and governance.
The Real Cost of Claims for Software Companies & Contractors
Even a single incident can be expensive and distracting when customers, partners and investors are involved.
Financial & Legal Impact
- Refunds, service credits and compensation payments to customers.
- Rework costs, emergency fixes and patching under time pressure.
- Legal fees in defending negligence, IP or contract claims.
- Costs associated with data breach notification and incident response.
- Potential involvement in multi-party disputes spanning vendors, cloud providers and clients.
Reputational & Operational Impact
- Damage to your reputation with key customers, partners and investors.
- Delays to roadmap and growth plans while teams focus on remediation.
- Increased scrutiny in future contract negotiations and due diligence.
- Internal stress and distraction for leadership, engineers and support teams.
- Potential difficulty securing future insurance if incidents are not well managed.
How Insurers Assess Risk for Software Companies & Contractors
Clear, well-documented practices can help secure more stable cover and pricing from technology-focused insurers.
Your Business & Customers
- Nature of your software – criticality, use cases and industry focus.
- Customer base – SMEs, enterprises, regulated industries, public sector.
- Revenue, user counts and projected growth.
- Contract sizes, deal structures and any major concentration risks.
- Extent of reliance on third parties (cloud providers, vendors, integrators).
Your Controls, Culture & Documentation
- Development, testing and deployment processes (DevOps, CI/CD, change control).
- Security practices, access control, encryption and vulnerability management.
- Incident response, monitoring and logging capabilities.
- Quality of documentation – specs, acceptance criteria, release notes, user guides.
- Claims history and lessons learned from any previous incidents.
Software Company & Contractor Insurance – Cover Options
Whether you are building a product or selling your time, we can align cover to your risk profile.
Software & SaaS Companies
Ideal for: software vendors, SaaS providers and platforms with paying users.
- Technology E&O and PI tailored to your architecture and customer base.
- Cyber cover including incident response, forensics and notification costs.
- Public & Employers’ Liability to protect your people and operations.
- Property and business interruption for offices and key assets.
- Optional D&O for founders and directors as the company grows.
Independent Software Contractors & Consultants
Ideal for: engineers and specialists working via limited company, often outside IR35.
- PI structured around your role, day rate and client contracts.
- PL and EL where required by agencies or end-clients.
- Contractor-focused cyber and equipment cover options.
- Support meeting insurance requirements in agency frameworks and onboarding packs.
- Ability to grow cover as you take on more responsibility or small teams.
High-Value Enterprise & Regulated Sector Deals
Ideal for: software vendors and contractors working with banks, healthcare, government or critical infrastructure.
- Higher PI, E&O and Cyber limits to match contract requirements.
- Support with negotiating liability caps and indemnities.
- Careful review of SLAs and service credit provisions from an insurability perspective.
- Options for excess layers or top-up cover where required.
- Alignment with security certifications and compliance frameworks you hold.
Optional Add-Ons (Subject to Underwriting)
- Increased limits for major customer or partner contracts.
- Worldwide jurisdiction, subject to any restrictions and exclusions.
- Additional legal expenses cover for contract and employment disputes.
- Enhanced cyber modules for social engineering and system failure.
- Run-off cover for winding down or selling the business.
“As a SaaS founder and former contractor, I needed insurance that understood both product risk and project risk. Insure24 helped us put in place cover that satisfied enterprise customers and still made sense at our stage of growth.”
Software Company FounderPROTECT YOUR CODE, YOUR CONTRACTS & YOUR REPUTATION
- The software, services and integrations you build and support.
- Your company or contractor business structure and responsibilities.
- Your position in complex value chains with multiple vendors and partners.
- Your balance sheet and personal finances if major claims arise.
- Your long-term credibility with customers, partners and investors.
Compliance, Contracts & Enterprise Deals
We help software companies and contractors navigate the insurance and liability demands baked into modern MSAs and procurement processes.
- Enterprise MSAs requiring specific PI, E&O, Cyber, PL and EL limits.
- Partner and reseller agreements with flowing-down obligations.
- Security and compliance questionnaires from corporate customers.
- Tenders and RFPs expecting detailed confirmation of cover.
- Negotiation of insurance-related clauses to keep obligations aligned with the protection available.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
+ -
What insurance does a software company typically need?
Most software companies require Technology Errors & Omissions / Professional Indemnity, Cyber, Public
Liability and Employers’ Liability as a core set. As they grow, many also purchase Directors’ & Officers’
cover and more extensive property or business interruption insurance.
+ -
Do software contractors need different insurance to software companies?
The principles are similar – protecting against negligence, service failure, cyber and liability – but the
structure is typically simpler and aligned to day rates, contract values and agency requirements. Many
contractors use combined PI, PL, EL and Cyber packages tailored to one-person limited companies.
+ -
Does insurance cover bugs, outages or missed SLAs?
Technology E&O and PI can respond to claims that your software or services caused financial loss, but
cover depends on the exact policy wording and contract terms. We work with you to align expectations
between your SLAs, limitation of liability clauses and the insurance that backs them.
+ -
Will my policy cover data breaches and cyber incidents?
Cyber insurance can cover a wide range of cyber incidents, including certain data breaches, business
interruption and associated costs. Technology E&O and PI may also respond where a security failure is
alleged to arise from your professional services. We will explain how the policies interact for your set-up.
+ -
How much PI or Tech E&O cover should we buy?
Appropriate limits depend on your customer base, contract sizes, use cases and the potential impact of
failure. Some early-stage companies may start at £1m, while others working with major enterprises or
regulated sectors may require significantly higher limits. We assess realistic worst-case scenarios and
contract requirements before recommending options.
+ -
Does PI cover historic versions of our software or completed projects?
PI and Tech E&O are usually written on a “claims-made” basis. The policy in force when the claim is
made responds, subject to the retroactive date. Maintaining continuous cover and a suitable retroactive
date is therefore essential to protect historic work and earlier product versions.
+ -
Can we get worldwide cover for our software and customers?
Many software businesses operate globally from day one. Worldwide cover is often possible but may have
restrictions for certain jurisdictions such as the USA or Canada unless specifically agreed. We will match
your cover to where your customers are located and which laws govern your contracts.
+ -
How do we show customers and investors that we have suitable insurance?
Insure24 provides schedules and confirmation of cover summarising key limits and policy types. These
can be used for customer onboarding, RFP responses, security questionnaires and investor due diligence.
Where specific wording is requested, we work with insurers to see what can be agreed.
+ -
What should we do if a customer threatens a claim over a software issue?
Contact Insure24 as soon as any serious complaint, dispute or threat of legal action arises. Early
notification is important under PI and Tech E&O policies. We help you notify insurers correctly,
gather relevant documentation and approach the situation in a structured way.
+ -
Can our insurance grow as we scale or move from contracting to a product business?
Yes. Many contractors later build small software companies, and many startups evolve into larger
vendors. Your insurance can be adjusted as revenue, contracts, staff numbers and responsibilities
increase. We review your cover regularly so it remains relevant as your business changes.