How Commercial Insurance Works For Mobile App Developers

There are some different types of business insurance for mobile app developers. Having the right commercial insurance can mean protection in various areas that you would not normally spare a thought for.

For example, some app developers have thought that there app was completely secure and then saw data breach that got them sued by thousands of different companies and persons. This can mean the end of a startup with limited funds. That’s why the types of insurance listed below are more important than ever for an mobile app development business.

Another potential claim example is if you were hired to design and create iOS app – which you did flawlessly. But your client was also expecting an Android version – that was never mentioned in the contract. Your client then sues – even if you did nothing wrong, you are going to spend thousands in legal fees.

Commercial Insurance Types For Mobile Application Development

Commercial General Liability

General liability is a type of insurance that is intended to protect you from most of the common things that you are liable for. When it comes to application development, some of the things that you may be liable for include actual physical injury that happens at your office.

For example, if you have clients coming over that are going to listen to a presentation and they slip and fall on the wet floor, they could sue and end up with your company in their pocket. But with general liability insurance, you are more protected and may not suffer the same fate.

Errors & Omissions Insurance (E&O)

Also know as professional liability insurance, if you make a mistake in your application and it caused someone problems with their business, then you may need errors and omissions insurance. For many mobile apps, this is the perfect type of business insurance for mobile app developers because it protects you against litigation from customers who use your app and then experience problems.

For example, if you are developing a commercial app to help companies do taxes, and they experienced tax problems due to the programming of the application, then you may be sued.

Cyber Liability

If the use of your application results in a data breach for your customers, either commercial or residential, then you’re going to need cyber liability insurance. If you work with the business that has sensitive information (like credit card or Social Security numbers) that they share with you and your data is breached, then you’re going to be in a lot of trouble when it comes to legal difficulties.

Mobile devices are regularly blamed for data insecurity, but often mobile applications are the source of vulnerabilities. Following are some of the most common issues with mobile apps than can cause a data breach and trigger a cyber liability claim:

• Bad Data Storage Practices – This happens when the data storage type makes to easy to gain access to an applications data.
• Data Leaks From Syncing – Mobile apps where users sync data to the cloud, data leaks are always a concern as data can be exposed to hackers.
• Lack Of Encryption – This makes data much easier to be hacked.
• Malware – Android applications are especially susceptible because users can sideload apps.
• Unauthorized Access – If user access permissions aren’t set properly, it is much more vulnerable to hacking.

You may be sued by everyone whose data was released and that can mean losing your entire business. Claims can reach into the millions of dollars.

Commercial Property Insurance

If there is a fire or storm, you will be glad that you have property insurance to protect your business. Business property insurance is intended to protect your physical assets. For example, if something happens like a natural disaster in your equipment is destroyed, then the property insurance that you hold may be able to protect most of your assets.

Property insurance is one of the standard types of insurance that is recommended for any business. If you have a store the work out of, and it is important that you keep that store in order to maintain your inventory or see customers face-to-face, then you need to have commercial property insurance to protect it.

Worker’s Compensation

Workers compensation is a type of insurance that is required by law, in most states, if you have employees that earn a salary or paid hourly. Workers comp insurance protects them in the case of an injury that happens on the job. Workers compensation often pays for medical bills that are associated with recovering from this type of injury. This can mean thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Without workers comp insurance, you could get sued for that same amount or much more. But when you have workers compensation, then the insurance pays instead of money coming out of your own pocket. In addition, workers compensation may also reimburse them for money that they are not able to earn while they are recovering from an injury that they received on the job. This also means that you do not have to pay it out of your pocket.

Employement Practices Liability (EPLI)

Employement practices liability protects you in cases like someone bringing a lawsuit against you for discrimination or sexual harassment. Discrimination is a pretty common lawsuit these days, which is unfortunate because discrimination does not happen often.

But people think that discrimination happens, especially when they are denied for a job as a minority due to someone else having more skills or experience than they do. In many cases, it might be beneficial for you to have to settle for these cases instead of fighting them. But with employee practices liability insurance, you are protected from sexual harassment and discrimination cases and you do have to put your own money on the line to fight for your right to hire the best person for the job.