Many moons ago, when That Software Guy was consulting full-time, he was contractually required to carry a large general liability policy (in case someone tripped over his briefcase or whatever). I got the policy from a fellow named Steve Arnold from TechInsurance. When I went back to W-2 status, I let the policy lapse because I started doing all my That Software Guy work on the Internet. Still, I had a nagging feeling that I wasn’t doing the right thing – and Steve confirmed this in a catch up phone call last week:
“Even though you’re Internet-based, you still have a liability exposure! You have rocks in your head not to have coverage!”
Well, he didn’t actually say that (although I’m sure he thought it) – Steve was extremely polite and helpful in explaining that there are still a number of edge cases – a UPS guy delivering a package, meeting a client for lunch – where liability still exists for Internet based operations like mine. So I wound up getting coverage again through them, and I must say it was a smooth and pleasant experience. If you’re a small IT or engineering business looking for a policy, give the TechInsurance folks a try.
