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Markel Direct offers specialist insurance to cover software developers throughout the development process – from requirements gathering and wireframing through to programming and testing.
Our specialist software developers’ insurance could help protect your business against mistakes you make in your work.
Despite your best efforts, a coding error could cause financial loss for a client, data could be lost or compromised, or a system failure could lead to an expensive claim.
Cover at a glance:
- Includes professional indemnity, liabilty and legel expenses
- Covers coding errors, project delays and data breaches
- Suitable for freelance developers and software teams
What is software developers insurance?
Software developer insurance covers IT contractors and professionals that operate within the software development industry. Whether you’re building new apps or customising off-the-shelf software, our insurance can be tailored to protect you every step of the way – covering you against allegations of professional negligence, personal injury or damage to client property.
Cover starting at
£5 a month*
*Price based on a software developer requiring £1 million of public liability insurance.
Why do software developers need insurance?
Clients have high expectations that developers will use their expertise and knowledge to deliver a high-quality product – but if the product fails to meet the standard required by clients, you may be held liable for any losses your client suffers.
Without software developer insurance in place, you would have to defend any claims (as well as pay any compensation that may be awarded to your client) out of your own personal finances.
Example policy documents
If you have an existing policy with us, please sign in to view your policy documents.
Below you will find examples of the documents provided.
What does software developers insurance cover?
Markel provides a range of cover options for software developers, including professional indemnity, public liability, employers’ liability and more. These covers have been designed to protect against the many risks facing software developers in their role.
Examples of what’s covered include:
- Copyright infringement - during the development process, you unintentionally use a copyrighted image without the appropriate licence. The owner of the image takes legal action against you for infringing copyright.
- Professional negligence - a software platform you develop is discovered to be unfit for purpose several months after a project ends. The client takes legal action against you to recover the cost of putting your mistakes right.
- Damage to property - you spill coffee over a client-owned laptop whilst working remotely. The client sends you the bill to repair it.
Build your software developers insurance policy online
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Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance covers the legal costs of defending your business against professional negligence claims, such as providing incorrect advice, as well as the cost of damages awarded against you if your defence is unsuccessful.
Examples of claims include:
- Breach of contract: you’re contracted to develop a component of a system within a specific time period. You miss the deadline and the client takes legal action against you for the additional costs incurred due to the delay.
- Negligence: a system you have developed performs worse than the legacy platform it replaced, incurring your client additional cost. The client takes legal action against you.
Professional indemnity insurance from Markel also includes mitigation of loss cover, which pays the cost of rectifying a mistake before your client makes a claim against you. Limits from £50k to £5m.
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Public and product liability insurance
Public and product liability insurance covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of injury or damage to third party property.
An example of a claim could be:
- An employee at your client’s office trips over your bag. They break their wrist and make a personal injury claim against you.
Limits range from £1m to £5m.
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Employer’s liability insurance
Employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement if you have employees in your business. Insurance will cover you against claims for illness or injury suffered by your employees as a result of working for your company.
If your business employs staff on a full time or part time basis, you will need to arrange employers’ liability insurance. Limit of £10m.
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Legal expenses insurance
Commercial legal expenses insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided for the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Directors and officers insurance
Directors and officers insurance covers the defence costs if you, as a director or officer of your company, are accused of wrongful acts and any subsequent damages awarded against you.
Insurance is provided in respect of the legal costs and expenses for disqualification as a director, extradition proceedings and general investigations.
Limits range from £25k to £5m.
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Office insurance
Office insurance covers your business premises against accidental damages and theft, including:
- Office buildings
- Office contents
- Computer equipment
Markel’s cover includes an option to cover your business equipment, such as laptops and mobile phones (on a worldwide basis) if you and your employees travel frequently for work.
You can also cover your company against additional trading expenses and loss of income in the event of a disaster (such as a fire or flood).
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Cyber and data risks insurance
Cyber and data risks insurance protects your business from the costs associated with a cyber-attack.
Costs include:
- Informing clients
- Meeting ransom demands
- Loss of business net profits
- Restoring data and equipment
Cover includes paying your legal defence costs and damages you are liable to pay to affected parties.
Software developers storing sensitive data on their own devices should consider this cover. Limits from £50k to £1m.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
How much it will cost
Costs vary depending on the covers and limits you choose to add to your policy, however software developer insurancefrom Markel starts at £5 per month.
How to arrange your software developer insurance
Covering your business with Markel is easy. Simply get an online quote by answering a few questions about you, your business and your activities. You’ll receive your policy documents instantly, including a proof of insurance document to show clients that you are insured.
Choose from a range of covers to build an insurance policy that is tailored to your business’ individual requirements.
Ready to build your quote?
Our simple quote process will help you to find the right business insurance for your individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
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I need to arrange software developers insurance to secure a contract – do you provide proof of cover?
Yes. When you take out software developers insurance with Markel, you will receive your policy documents via email immediately. Included in your policy documents is your ‘Confirmation of Liability Insurance’ - which details the insurance you have chosen - and can be presented to your clients as proof of cover.
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Is my past work covered?
If you have previously held uninterrupted professional indemnity insurance before purchasing a policy with us, past software development work is covered.
Our policy is unable to cover past work if, for a period of time, you did not hold professional indemnity insurance.
Examples:
- You have never previously held professional indemnity insurance
- You held a professional indemnity insurance policy before, but chose not to renew
- Or, you cancelled a previous professional indemnity insurance policy at the end of your contract
If you require further clarification regarding past work, please call us on 0800 640 6600.
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What limit of cover should I choose?
Frequently, in order to undertake contracted work, software developers must have a minimum limit of cover. Industry bodies and clients will define these beforehand – before arranging cover with Markel, you may wish to check their guidelines.
If this is the first time you have arranged insurance cover, consider the worst-case scenario that could arise while developing software for a client and calculate the likely costs of putting the mistake right.
Markel offers a wide range of limits and levels of cover, so you can build a tailored policy for your individual needs.
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What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?
Professional indemnity covers you against allegations of professional negligence. This includes instances where you accidentally make an error while working on software development for a client, during planning, programming or testing for example.
Public liability insurance covers against allegations of injury or illness caused to third parties due to negligence on your part. This covers your business against personal injury claims. Additionally, public liability insurance covers against damage to third-party property.
For example, if someone were to trip over your laptop wire, injure themselves and make a personal injury claim against you, you would be covered by public liability insurance.
Both professional indemnity and public liability insurance cover you against different scenarios, you must consider holding both to protect your business.
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Why should I insure with Markel?
With over 25 years’ experience in insuring IT professionals, including software developers, Markel understands the risks facing your industry.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s and London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of $1.2 billion in 2018.
Want to know more? Call on 0800 640 6600 to speak to an insurance expert, who can answer any queries you have about different types of cover and talk you through them, step-by-step.
Alternatively, get an online quote in 90 seconds and start protecting your software development business with Markel today.
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How are Markel Direct regulated?
Markel Direct is a trading name of Markel International Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Find out more on the Financial Services Register.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
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