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Cover image for Freelancers: are you using liability insurance? Which one?
Sylwia Vargas
Sylwia Vargas

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Freelancers: are you using liability insurance? Which one?

I noticed recently that after the Iowa caucus app fail people generally seem more worried about dangers of poor app design and the tone of these conversations makes me think immediately of lawsuits if someone hacked the app I worked on.

Question to all the freelancers in the room: do you have a liability insurance? And if so, which one are you using? Is there a reason why you chose the specific one?

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marcradziwill profile image
Marc

Yes, I do have one. It is german insurance so you might need to search for one in your country but the reason was a special insurance condition for IT companies. For instance, they cover data deletion costs, infringements of names and some more.

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sylwiavargas profile image
Sylwia Vargas

Thank you! What if someone hacks the website you created? Is that even your liability ?

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marcradziwill profile image
Marc

Hey Sylwia,

yes, but the insurance components are limited in the damage amount.

The special insurance condition for IT companies includes the following:

  • Installation and implementation damage
  • Re-implementation costs
  • Damage due to unauthorized access from outside (including damage in the area of ​​payment or billing transactions)
  • Financial loss from the violation of commercial property rights and copyrights
  • Damage due to breach of data protection laws
  • Damage due to faulty software or faulty services or other services
  • Damage due to software viruses and other malicious software
  • Damage due to violation of personal and naming rights violations

Fortunately, I've never had to use it and I probably wouldn't need all of the conditions.

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sylwiavargas profile image
Sylwia Vargas

Thank you! I don’t envision that I’d have to use it but then again, no one does :)

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marcradziwill profile image
Marc

Haha, yes you're right

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michaelmathy profile image
Michael Mathy

I have the same insurance and the coverage depends of the price you pay for.

As Marc, in 20 years, I have never used it and also, if it would be the case, I always have emails or paper signed which prove that the client has tested first the application and did not see any bugs.
I think it also diminish when my insurance will be in use.

But I have also another insurance more like my family insurance for instance for all the damage I could also do during my work but not directly related with my work.
For instance, by accident, I push a printer out of a table and break it.

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shaunagordon profile image
Shauna Gordon

Yep. I originally got it because a client required it, but I've since kept it as a sort of safety net.

In the US, the business insurance types are pretty standard, I've found. You've got the basic general liability that every business would get, then knowledge workers and other "professionals" (lawyers, accountants, etc) also get professional liability (which is often bundled with general liability, so you don't have to buy them separately) which covers things that are common to that kind of work. There can also be a few other options and addons, like worker's compensation for companies with employees; and cyberterrorism insurance, which I think is useful for software developers in particular (one can really never know when we or a client we work for will get hit by a cyberterrorism attack or be used as a vector).

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sylwiavargas profile image
Sylwia Vargas

I totally agree with you on the cyberterrorism issue — as we speak, my friend's student project (that holds no value, except for the sentimental one!) was just hacked.
Thank you for your comment — it's really helpful.

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sylwiavargas profile image
Sylwia Vargas

thank you — why do you think it's unnecessary?