Software developer insurance
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Why do you need software developer insurance?
Your work is highly skilled, taking on big expectations for different clients, creating the solutions they need to succeed. Whether it’s building a new application or coding for other small businesses, accidents do happen, especially where client systems are concerned. Software developer insurance takes care of these risks, letting you focus on the job.
- protection from big claims like accidental injury or damage
- help to keep going when an unexpected issue comes up
- cover for the specifics from legal costs and tools to personal accidents
What does insurance for software developers cover?
Most policies start with professional indemnity insurance for software developers, built around your business type. Even if you’re a software contractor, insurance like employers’ liability is legally required if you employ anyone. Software company insurance can also include key covers like public liability insurance, protecting you if anyone is injured or their property gets damaged.
Public liability insurance
In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
Professional indemnity insurance
In case you make a mistake or give incorrect advice, costing your client money.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your phone or laptop.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with certain legal costs while running your software business.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.
Public liability insurance
In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
What’s typically covered by public and product liability insurance for software developers?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone else’s property, because of your work as a software consultant
- injury caused by your business activities
- accidental damage or injury caused by your employee, if you have one
For example:
- while you’re working in your client’s office, someone trips over your laptop cable, breaking their ankle
- you spill coffee on a client’s laptop, damaging the screen
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- employee illness or injury caused by working for you
- medical bills and legal fees due to employee illness or injury
- some temps or casual workers may be covered
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
For example:
- a Christmas temp slips in the client’s office, hurting their back and causing chronic pain
- your employee is working late and traps their hand in the door while locking up, breaking a finger
Professional indemnity insurance
In case you make a mistake or give incorrect advice, costing your client money.
What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance for software developers?
Claims against your business for professional negligence which causes your client a financial loss, which may include:
- advice you’ve given which turns out to be incorrect
- errors in your work
For example:
- while creating new software, you expose your client to a virus which causes them to lose their customer data
- you agree on a deadline with your client, but the work takes longer than estimated – the delay forces them to cancel their launch party and rollout
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your phone or laptop.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft of the equipment you use to run your business
- accidental loss of your operational equipment
- flood, fire or accidental damage
For example:
- your laptop is stolen from a client’s meeting room
- you drop your phone onto the leg of your chair, cracking and distorting the screen
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with certain legal costs while running your software business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- some legal costs associated with day-to-day activities, like a client dispute
- property damage, nuisance or trespass and associated legal costs
- HMRC, tax and compliance issues, if they come up
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline and crisis support to help you protect your reputation as a software consultant
For example:
- you’re selected at random by HMRC for an enquiry into your last tax return, and need legal advice
- you hire a temp for a bigger client project, who sues you for unfair dismissal
What you’ll need additional cover for
- contractual disputes arising from software development, installation or services
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- injury or death of anyone you’ve covered in the policy – whether this happens at work or elsewhere
- lost income, hospital bills or other medical costs associated with the accident
For example:
- you break your leg on a night out, forcing you to delay client work and take time off
- your temp employee shuts their hand in the car door while driving their child to school, breaking a finger
Read more about personal accident insurance
Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Always check policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does software developer insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £3.19 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
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10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Example software developer insurance quotes, real prices
£13.74 /month
£117.37 /year
A self employed software developer who codes for small businesses
- 1-2 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Cardiff
Professional indemnity
£100,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Business equipment cover
£2,500
£59.90 /month
£532.42 /year
A small software development company who codes for small to medium businesses
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Leeds
Professional indemnity
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Business equipment cover
£15,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 19/01/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Professional indemnity | No excess | £2500 |
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
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How do claims work?
Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
Example claim
Having insurance through Simply Business has saved software developers thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Taj saved more than £1,700
Taj (not his real name) was pulling his coat out of his bag when his laptop slipped onto a step, damaging the motherboard and screen. His accidental damage insurance covered the replacement cost.
Insurance payout
£1,707.50
Covering the cost of accidental damage
Taj's costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Taj's policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Software developer insurance insurance FAQ
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about software developer insurance.
The exact insurance you’ll need depends on your business, the clients you work with and the projects you’re booked on as a software consultant.
Professional indemnity insurance is a key cover for thousands of developers, protecting against claims for negligent professional errors. You can add it to a broader business insurance policy that includes cover for things like accidents, injuries and damage to your laptop, or buy it as a standalone policy.
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.
If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.
Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider it consultant insurance or it business insurance?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.
Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 043 8527 to update your policy before you take on this new work. If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.
If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.
This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.
If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.
There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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