General
Liability coverage protects your business against claims of bodily injury or
property damage to others. Commercial General Liability does not provide
coverage for programming errors, contract performance disputes or any other
Professional Liability issues. IT consultants and companies who have General
Liability without Professional Liability (Errors or Omissions) coverage are
taking a serious risk. Even so, many contracts you will encounter will only
require this General Liability coverage.
Combined
with the Commercial General Liability in what is known as the Bus-Line
"package", coverage is provided for property, including computer
equipment, owned by your business at limits stated in your policy.
Professional
Liability protects your IT business from claims of financial loss resulting
from programming errors, software performance failure or the failure of your
work, schedule, etc. to perform as was initially agreed upon in your contract
with your client. This coverage is the cornerstone of the Bus-Line program and
is increasingly being required by companies who outsource their information
technology needs.
Workers'
Compensation covers the medical expenses and lost income of your employees if
they are hurt in the course of doing work-related activities. It is important
for IT companies to have a single Workers' Compensation policy that is
accepted in all states. The only exceptions to this are the states of ND, OH,
WA and WV. These states are called Monopolistic States and their laws require
that Workers' Compensation insurance be purchased directly from their
respective state funds.
Also known as Commercial Crime coverage, Fidelity Bonds protect your company
from theft by employees at your place of business. Because the nature of IT
work often takes employees offsite, Third Party Fidelity extends this coverage
to include theft of the property of others, by your employees, at locations
other than your business.
"D&O"
coverage provides financial protection for the directors and officers of your
company in the event they are sued in conjunction with the performance of
their duties as they relate to the company. Coverage is not provided for the
company itself in this circumstance, rather, the directors and officers'
personal assets are covered here. Just because a technology business may not
be publicly traded, its executives are not insulated from potential lawsuits
initiated by employees, stockholders or other directors/officers.
Employment
Practices Liability, also referred to as EPLI, provides protection for your
firm against allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, failure to
promote, wrongful termination and other employment-related liability issues.
The mobile nature of an IT workforce requires this type of protection, not
only to protect your business from client allegations, but also to provide
protection for employee claims of this nature. EPLI is available for an
additional premium in the Bus-Line program.
Protects
the employer against claims by employees or former employees resulting from
negligent acts or omissions in the administration of the company's employee
benefits programs. The term "employee benefits programs" is defined
to include group life insurance and group accident and/or health insurance;
profit sharing plans; employee stock subscription plans; and workers'
compensation, unemployment insurance, social security benefits, disability
benefits, etc. Coverage
is intended to extend to the "administration" of these plans,
including counseling employees, interpreting employee benefits programs,
handling records, enrolling/terminating/canceling employees in specified plans
on a timely basis, etc.
The "on the go" nature of IT consulting work finds businesses
providing rental cars for its employees on a regular basis. Typical commercial
auto policies provide liability coverage for damage to other drivers and/or
vehicles that these rental vehicles may cause, but do not pay for physical
damages to to the rental car itself. Hired Car Physical Damage is a separate
policy available through the Bus-Line program that provides this coverage.
For insurance quotes call 1-888-516-3902
