App Developer Insurance

Karen Guglielmo

Future-Proof Your Business with App Developer Insurance

What to Consider When Looking for Insurance for Mobile App Development

Here are three types of business insurance available to app developers:

  • General liability insurance
  • Professional liability insurance
  • Workers compensation insurance

Each type of policy covers different scenarios, but all insurance offers the benefit that:

  • It can protect your business from certain claims.
  • It can cover damages caused by your negligence.
  • Proof of insurance can help clients feel good about your work.
  • It may be required where you’re located.

What Type of App Developers Insurance Do I Need?

What Types of Insurance Do App Developers Need?

Professional Liability Insurance

Your work can have a serious impact on your customers’ business. While that means you thoroughly help each client, it also can make you liable. As an app developer, your client could potentially sue you for negligence.

In these scenarios, professional liability insurance can help.

This type of policy protects your business against a negligence claim. A client can sue you for negligence and damages, even if you don’t agree with the claim. Professional liability insurance covers you if a client claims that you, your employees, or your business were negligent.

“Negligence” may seem abstract, so let’s look at a scenario. Imagine you’ve created an app for an eCommerce client, and they love your work. All seems well at first, but then end users begin to realize the app is charging them twice for purchases, and now they’re suing your client’s company.

Since you created the app, and therefore the bug, your client could possibly sue you.

Perhaps you disagree with the claim, and you get legal representation to fight the case. You may or may not have to pay damages in the end, but you’ll definitely have your own legal bills. Without insurance, all of these fees would come directly out of your pocket.

However, a professional liability insurance policy could help offset those costs, saving you thousands of dollars.

Let’s review the scenarios that professional liability insurance usually covers:

  • Legal defense costs
  • Omissions or alleged omissions
  • Negligence or alleged negligence
  • Claims and damages
  • And more

Having professional liability insurance does not usually protect you from:

  • Property damage
  • Intentional acts and omissions
  • Bodily injury
  • Medical expenses
  • And more

General Liability Insurance

s professional liability covers specific scenarios, general liability insurance is a bit broader. This type of policy covers bodily injury, property damage, and third-party accidents. For reference, “third party” is insurance lingo for your clients or vendors.

As an app developer, you could encounter accidents when you and your clients are visiting each other’s offices. For example, if you were to go to a client’s office to present your final product and you crashed into their freshly cleaned glass doors, you could shatter the door and end up with the bill to fix the damages.

If you had a general liability policy, your plan could likely help cover the costs. Without coverage, you’d be stuck with an annoyed client and a big bill.

Think you could handle small accident damages? The average claim for property damage or accidents in small businesses is $30,000, so you’d better have a healthy business savings account if you plan to weather the storm without insurance.

So what does general liability insurance typically cover in your app development business? Here’s a recap:

  • Third-party property damage (aka clients or vendors)
  • Bodily injury
  • Medical expenses
  • Personal and advertising injury
  • And more

General liability insurance does not cover:

  • Personal property damage
  • Professional services
  • Employee injury and workers compensation

Workers Compensation Insurance

While the previous two policies could be useful for any app developer, this third category is reserved for businesses with employees. Most states require you to carry workers compensation insurance if you have part-time, full-time, or even temporary employees.

This type of insurance can cover medical bills, lost wages, and legal fees associated with an employee who gets sick or hurt on the job.

If you want to learn which requirements apply to you, without having to sort through government websites, simply answer a few questions for a personalized quote.

The average cost of a workers comp claim is $40,051, which means that the price of a single accident makes workers compensation insurance worth having.

Workers compensation insurance for app developers may cover:

  • Medical payments
  • Lost wages
  • Rehabilitation expenses
  • Death benefits

Why Should You Get an App Developer Insurance Policy?

  • $30,000 for property damage or accident claims
  • $50,000 for reputational harm claims (e.g., slander or libel)
  • $20,000 for a client slip-and-fall case
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Karen Guglielmo

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This content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, or any other form of professional advice.