IT Contractor Insurance

IT Contractors are part of a growing workforce trend. All around the world, companies large & small are parceling out work to independently employed IT Contractors. Why is IT Contracting growing at such an accelerated rate? The No.1 reason is that companies are doing whatever they can to reduce operating costs. Reducing the number of permanently employed staff & hiring IT Contractors to replace them is a large part of that strategy. Major UK companies like British Telecoms, Lloyd Bank, Norwich Union & Glaxo Welcome are all hiring IT contractors to perform work that was once done in-house.

For enterprising professionals, this trend spells tremendous opportunity, but beware. It's estimated that there are now some 400,000 IT Contractors working in the UK & as the industry grows, the potential for claims against those contractors providing the technology solutions grows accordingly. In today's highly litigious environment IT Contractors need to be comfortable that their true risk exposures are covered.

IT Contractor Insurance - Financial Protection In The Event Things Go Wrong

IT Contractors are entrusted by their clients to provide a professional service and are seen as experts in their field. As highly skilled & trained professionals most go through their careers without making a mistake that causes financial loss to a client. Others are less fortunate. Unintentional incidents like losing client data or damaging a client network system can open them up to litigation and expose them potentially ruinous financial claims. This is where IT Contractor Insurance comes into play.

IT Contractor Insurance with Professional Indemnity cover helps guard against the financial consequences of being sued by a client following a mistake. A Professional Indemnity policy will fund the legal costs of defending a case and should a case be proven the cost of meeting compensation payments. A good policy will help form an effective legal blanket against most risks including;
Breach of contract
Breach of confidence & privacy
Computer virus transmission
Defamation
Dishonesty
Intellectual property rights infringement
Loss or damage to documents or data
Negligent misstatement or misrepresentation

Professional indemnity insurance for IT contractors is easily obtainable from a number of UK insurance brokers. For a relatively small fee (premiums tend to start at £150 per Annam) IT Contractors can concentrate on doing what do they best without worrying about the possibility of litigation. Furthermore, as more IT recruitment agencies like Computer People, Elan & Hudson now require professional indemnity in their terms of business, its an investment that should help secure more contracts.