You Get Sued for What the Technology Does, Not for Anyone Getting Hurt.
Protecting software, platforms, and the data they run on
Technology companies design, build, host, and sell products made of code and data — software, platforms, APIs, SaaS, connected devices, and the services around them — and their defining risk is unlike that of a company that makes a physical thing. When a product has a defect, fails to perform, suffers an outage, or is breached, the client loses money, not a limb, and they sue for that financial loss. That economic-loss and data exposure is exactly what a general liability policy is built to exclude. A technology business needs a coordinated program built around professional services insurance foundations — technology errors and omissions fused with cyber, plus intellectual-property and media coverage. This is the broad hub of technology risk, and it is written for how tech firms actually get sued.
Properly structured coverage protects the company, its principals, and every client and user that depends on what it ships.
The Technology Company's Signature Exposures
The signature exposure is technology E&O and cyber as a single, fused risk: a software or product defect, a failed deployment, or a performance shortfall causes a client financial loss, and that same incident is frequently also a breach — a vulnerability the firm introduced, a compromised hosted environment, or exposed user data. One event fires two coverages at once, which is why they must be written to work together rather than bought apart. Alongside that sits intellectual-property infringement over code, libraries, algorithms, trademarks, and design, and media liability over the content and advertising the product presents. Because many tech firms hold and host client and end-user data, privacy and regulatory exposure follows the data itself — and a general liability policy, built around bodily injury and tangible property damage, specifically excludes nearly all of it.
Key Risks in Technology Operations
Technology companies face exposure related to:
A software or product defect that causes a client real financial loss
A system outage or failed deployment that interrupts a client's operations
A data breach of information the company holds, processes, or hosts
A single incident that is both a professional error and a security breach
Alleged infringement of code, libraries, algorithms, trademarks, or design
Media and advertising-injury claims arising from the product's content
Contractual indemnity and performance obligations clients demand
Getting sued for what the technology does, not for injury, is what most defines the firm.
Core Coverages for Technology Companies
A properly built technology program typically includes:
Technology Errors & Omissions (Professional Liability) — Covers claims that a product or service was defective, late, or failed to perform — the core economic-loss exposure general liability excludes, usually written on a combined tech form.
Cyber Liability (First- and Third-Party) — Covers breach response, data restoration, business interruption, and ransomware, plus clients' and regulators' claims after a breach of data the firm holds or hosts.
Media / Intellectual Property Liability — Covers infringement and advertising-injury claims over code, content, algorithms, and design, frequently bundled into the tech E&O form.
General Liability — Covers ordinary third-party bodily injury and property damage, and satisfies client and lease requirements.
Commercial Property / Business Owner's Policy — Covers office equipment, servers, and contents, plus business interruption from a covered physical loss.
Directors & Officers Liability — Protects boards and executives over governance and funding decisions, critical for venture-backed and high-growth companies.
Crime / Social Engineering Coverage — Covers funds-transfer fraud, social-engineering loss, and cyber-related theft.
Workers' Compensation & EPLI — Provide required employee coverage and address employment-practices claims as the team grows.
Umbrella / Excess Liability — Adds higher limits above the primary program for large-client contracts and high-severity claims.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Technology programs are most often weakened by:
Carrying only general liability, which excludes the software-defect claim entirely
Buying tech E&O and cyber separately, so a single incident falls into the gap between them
No media or IP coverage for code, trademark, and design infringement
Limits sized to revenue instead of the largest client contract and indemnity obligation
Hosting client systems with no first-party cyber for the outage and restoration
Contract requirements for limits and additional-insured status not reflected in the policy
The gap that hurts most is a split between technology E&O and cyber that leaves a dual-trigger incident uncovered.
Real-World Claim Examples
A software defect crashes a client's revenue-critical workflow and the client sues for the loss
A platform outage interrupts client operations and triggers service-level penalties
A vulnerability the firm introduced leads to a breach of end-user data
A competitor alleges the product infringes patented or licensed code
A funds-transfer fraud routes a payment to an attacker's account
Any one of these can be significant, and the fused defect-and-breach claim is the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Compliance Context
Most software and technology work requires no occupational license, so the governing framework is contractual and data-driven rather than regulatory. Client master-services agreements and statements of work set performance standards, indemnity, limitation-of-liability, and insurance requirements — commonly minimum tech E&O and cyber limits with the client named as additional insured. Where products touch regulated data, obligations flow through by contract and by law: HIPAA for health data, PCI-DSS for payment cards, the FTC's authority over unfair and deceptive data practices, and state privacy statutes such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, alongside the EU's GDPR for firms with European users. Compliance frameworks like SOC 2 increasingly shape both operations and insurability.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Technology risk is written on specialty combined tech-E&O-and-cyber forms built by carriers that understand software, and placing the two together avoids the gap where an incident is both an error and a breach. Underwriters weigh the services and products offered — hosting, SaaS, and connected devices raise exposure over pure licensing — client size and industry, contract and indemnity practices, data sensitivity, revenue, the security stack, and claims history. Emerging and high-growth technology risk often moves to the excess and surplus (E&S) market, where carriers can tailor terms and higher limits. Matching limits to the contracts actually signed, and confirming media and IP coverage, are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure technology companies around the reality that your work product is code and data, placing technology E&O and cyber together so a product failure and the breach it causes are covered by one coordinated program, adding media and IP coverage, and sizing limits to the contracts you actually sign. We review your client agreements so the indemnity you accept is backed by the policy. We also insure related technology practices, including IT service providers and MSPs and web and app development firms, within the broader professional services category.
You get sued for what the technology does, not for anyone getting hurt, which makes a technology company a distinct risk — we build the coverage to match it, tech E&O and cyber together.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See the coverages a technology company business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Technology Company Coverage Checklist.
Complete the Technology Company Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get technology company insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate technology company insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
How much does technology company insurance cost?
It depends on your exposure. Technology company insurance is priced on factors like your industry, size, prior claims, and the limits and deductibles you select — so two businesses rarely pay the same. We shop your account across competing carriers and present the trade-offs in plain English.
Who needs technology company insurance?
Requirements vary. Technology company insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
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