IT security specialist insurance
You secure other people's systems. Public Liability covers injury or damage you cause to others, and Professional Indemnity covers financial loss a client blames on your work or advice.
Cover built for IT consulting, software work and security testing, based on the activities you declare when you apply.
Public Liability from €7.55 per month, Professional Indemnity from €10.80 per month.
Business insurance, done differently.
Fully online business insurance in Ireland.
A few questions and you're covered.
No lock-in, no long contracts.
Excess from €0, up to €6.5 million of cover.
Why take out business insurance as an IT security specialist?
Your work sits close to things that cost clients money when they go wrong: live systems, client data, migrations and the advice you give about all three. This insurance is not required by law in Ireland. What it does is stop a disputed piece of work from becoming a bill you settle yourself.
Clients and tenders ask for it: Irish enterprises, public sector tenders and framework agreements routinely ask for proof of cover before they let a contractor near a production system. Tenders and framework agreements set their own cover limits, and they are usually well above the entry tier, so check what the contract asks for before you buy.
The claim is usually financial, not physical: a penetration test that misses a flaw, a migration that loses a day of trading, a recommendation that turns out to be wrong. That is what Professional Indemnity is for.
You are on other people's sites: in a Dublin data centre or a client's office in Galway, someone can still be injured, or property damaged, because of your work. That is what Public Liability is for.
Defence costs are covered too: Insify pays your legal defence costs as well as any compensation due, up to your cover limit and after your excess.
What is Public Liability insurance?
How does it work: if someone who is not your employee is injured, or their property is damaged, in the course of your work, Public Liability takes care of your legal defence costs and any compensation due, up to your cover limit and after your excess.
What does it cover: injury to a third party and damage to third-party property. You choose a cover limit of €1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim, with twice that amount per year.
Cover that fits your profession: you declare your activities when you apply, from IT consulting and software development to system, software and network testing, and your cover follows what you declared.
Is it mandatory: Public Liability is not required by law in Ireland. It is your clients, the venues and data centres you work in, and public tenders that ask for it. Cover starts from €7.55 per month.
Who needs it: any IT security specialist who visits client sites, works in shared offices or data centres, or is asked for a certificate of insurance before a contract starts.
What is Professional Indemnity insurance?
How does it work: if a client suffers a purely financial loss because of your professional work or advice, Professional Indemnity covers your defence costs and the compensation due, up to your cover limit and after your excess.
What does it cover: financial loss from your professional services. Cover limits run from €125,000 to €1.25 million per claim, with twice that amount per year.
Cover that fits your profession: it is built around the work IT security specialists actually do, including security auditing, vulnerability and penetration testing, custom software, system and network management and data recovery.
Is it mandatory: Professional Indemnity is not required by law in Ireland, but it is the cover IT contracts and tenders most commonly ask for. Cover starts from €10.80 per month.
Who needs it: any IT security specialist who advises clients, tests or configures their systems, or delivers work a client could later say was not fit for purpose.
Switching insurers: Professional Indemnity is written on a claims-made basis, which means the policy that answers a claim is the one in force when the claim is made, not when the work was done. When you switch, work you did up to 5 years back can be covered, provided your previous policy would have covered the claim.
Leaving? Claims about work done while you were insured must be reported before your policy ends, unless run-off cover is arranged.
What does our insurance cover for IT security specialists?
Our cover for IT security specialists is built around Public Liability, with Professional Indemnity and Employers' Liability cover that you can add to match how you work.
Public Liability: protects you if a third party is injured, or their property is damaged, in the course of your work. It takes care of your defence costs and any compensation due. You choose a cover limit of €1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim.
Professional Indemnity: covers financial loss a client suffers because of your professional work or advice, such as a security review that missed a flaw. Cover limits from €125,000 to €1.25 million per claim.
Employers' Liability (optional): if you employ staff, this covers your liability as an employer, with a limit of €13 million per claim.
Your excess: you choose it when you apply. If your turnover is €500,000 or less the options are €0, €250, €500, €1,000 or €2,500, with €500 as the default. Above €500,000 the options are €500, €1,000 or €2,500.
Which cover do you need?
Most IT Security specialists are exposed to both. One covers injury and damage, the other financial loss from your work. You can combine them in one Insify policy.
Public Liability insurance
Covers claims when your work injures someone or damages something that belongs to them. For example, someone trips over your equipment, or you damage a floor while working at a client's premises.
- Choose your cover: from €1.25 million up to €6.5 million per claim, and up to twice that per insurance year
- Excess from €0, depending on your turnover
- Staff? Add optional Employers' Liability with €13 million cover per claim
- Most relevant when your work brings you into contact with clients, the public, their premises or their belongings
Professional Indemnity insurance
Covers purely financial loss a client suffers through a professional mistake, oversight or wrong advice, with no injury or property damage involved. Think of work a client claims was unfit for purpose and cost them money.
- Choose your cover: from €125,000 up to €1.25 million per claim, and up to twice that per insurance year
- Excess from €0, depending on your turnover
- Most relevant when clients pay you for advice, programmes and plans
What's covered
Security consulting and support across software, systems, networks and data, including auditing and vulnerability and penetration testing
Data recovery
IT consulting, including recommending hardware, software and communications technology and helping put it in place
Building custom software, standard software and apps, and websites
Testing, managing and maintaining systems, software and networks, including installation, updates and repairs
Coaching, and running training courses, seminars and events
Working at client sites, and travelling for the job
The premises you work from
Placing your own staff with a client, or taking an interim management role
Promising or guaranteeing a result, such as a yield or a profitability figure
A contract clause that increases your liability beyond what the law would impose, such as a penalty, a warranty or a performance commitment
Patent infringement
Running a social media platform or a streaming service
Software for machines that directly control a manufacturing process, such as programmable logic controllers, or for airport baggage handling systems
Software for medical or laboratory equipment, such as control software for X-ray machines or laboratory centrifuges
Errors that are entirely a third party's responsibility, or a third party's internet or telecoms failure, where you have given up your right to claim against them
Cover and exclusions shown are indicative and non-contractual. Only the terms of your policy apply.
Claim examples
A security review for a Cork software firm signed off a payment integration that still had an exposed test endpoint. The client had to halt transactions for 2 days and pay for an emergency re-audit. Professional Indemnity covered the client's financial loss and the defence costs.
A scheduled overnight migration for a Dublin logistics client ran long and left the order system down through the morning. The client claimed for the trading it lost. Professional Indemnity answered the claim.
You were running cabling for an on-site sensor install when a contractor working alongside you tripped and broke a wrist. Public Liability covered the injury claim and the legal costs that came with it.
A security review for a Cork software firm signed off a payment integration that still had an exposed test endpoint. The client had to halt transactions for 2 days and pay for an emergency re-audit. Professional Indemnity covered the client's financial loss and the defence costs.
A scheduled overnight migration for a Dublin logistics client ran long and left the order system down through the morning. The client claimed for the trading it lost. Professional Indemnity answered the claim.
You were running cabling for an on-site sensor install when a contractor working alongside you tripped and broke a wrist. Public Liability covered the injury claim and the legal costs that came with it.
Examples are for illustrative purposes only. Compensation depends on the exact circumstances of the claim. No rights can be derived from these examples.
Your business insurance with Insify SmartGuide
Taking out insurance can be quick. Making sure you have the right cover is another matter. With Insify SmartGuide, you don't sign a contract blindly. You ask all your questions, and get clear, immediate and personalised answers, before you take out a policy.
Are you covered if you accidentally damage a client's equipment while working?
What excess should you choose?
Are you protected in the event of a dispute with a client?
Insify SmartGuide guides you step by step to understand what's covered, what isn't, and why. In just a few clicks, you build insurance that's truly tailored to your business, with complete confidence. Try Insify SmartGuide. Understand your insurance before you need it.
How to choose the right insurance as an IT security specialist?
Criteria to compare:
The cover offered: match it to the real risks of the work. Check that every discipline you sell is covered, from security auditing and penetration testing to custom software, network management and data recovery, and that damage you might cause to the equipment or spaces you work in is included.
The price: compare premiums, but an attractive price can hide exclusions that matter in IT work. Read what is carved out before you compare the monthly figure.
The excess: know what stays at your own expense when a claim happens, and check whether it applies per claim or per year.
The exclusions: watch for undeclared activities, contract clauses that increase your liability beyond the law, and marketing or proposals that promise a guaranteed outcome. Those are the ones that bite IT contractors.
The service: you want an insurer you can actually reach when something goes wrong. Check how you get hold of them and how quickly they answer.
Mistakes to avoid: taking a generic business policy and assuming it follows you onto a client's production system. It usually does not, and the gap only shows up when a client sends a letter. To secure your business today, discover our Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.
More than 40,000 entrepreneurs trust us
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Answers to your questions about our insurance for IT security specialists
The price depends on your turnover, the activities you declare, your headcount and the cover limit and excess you choose. At Insify, Public Liability for an IT security specialist starts from €7.55 per month and Professional Indemnity from €10.80 per month. A personalised quote takes a few minutes online, and you can move the cover limit and the excess up or down to see what each option costs before you buy.
It is not required by law in Ireland. In practice it is the cover IT contracts, framework agreements and public tenders most commonly ask for, and they normally state the limit they require. The reason is that the loss a client suffers from IT work is usually financial rather than physical: a system that stays down, a flaw that was missed, work that has to be redone. Professional Indemnity is the cover that answers that kind of claim.
It can cover your liability to that client, but only for the financial loss they suffer because of your professional work or advice: for example a security review that missed the flaw an attacker used. What it does not do is act as cyber insurance. It does not pay for damage to your own systems or data, for your own business interruption, or for incident response and notification costs, and Insify does not sell a cyber product in Ireland. If you want cover for your own systems and data you would need a separate policy elsewhere.
No. Public Liability is not required by law in Ireland for a self-employed IT consultant. What happens in practice is that clients, landlords, shared offices, data centres and public tenders ask for proof of cover before they let you on site or sign a contract. They set the limit they want. Holding cover also means that if someone is injured, or property is damaged, because of your work, the claim is met by your policy rather than out of your own pocket, up to your cover limit and after your excess.
Public Liability covers injury to other people and damage to their property caused in the course of your work, such as someone tripping over cabling you ran at a client's office. Professional Indemnity covers purely financial loss caused by your professional work or advice, such as a migration that cost a client a day of trading. For an IT security specialist Professional Indemnity is usually the bigger exposure, which is why contracts commonly ask for both.
The excess is the part of a claim you pay yourself. You choose it when you apply. If your turnover is €500,000 or less the options are €0, €250, €500, €1,000 or €2,500, with €500 set as the default; above €500,000 the options are €500, €1,000 or €2,500. As a worked example, on a €12,000 claim with a €500 excess you pay €500 and Insify covers €11,500. A higher excess lowers your premium and leaves more with you when a claim happens.
Professional Indemnity is written on a claims-made basis, which means the policy that answers a claim is the one in force when the claim is made, not when the work was done. When you switch to Insify, work you did up to 5 years back can be covered, provided your previous policy would have covered the claim. It is worth keeping your old policy documents, because that is what establishes the position if a client raises something later.
The main carve-outs for IT work are promising or guaranteeing results, contract clauses that increase your liability beyond what the law would give, patent infringement, and running social media platforms or streaming services. There are also sector carve-outs for safety-critical work such as medical and laboratory technology, machines that directly control a manufacturing process, and airport baggage handling systems. The full list is in the exclusions section above and in your policy documents.