Exclusive Burns & Wilcox , Atain’s new Technology E&O product features a cyber liability option
In today’s high-speed, tech-driven world, change is constant, competition tight and risk seemingly lurking around every cyber-corner. For professionals who do business in this high-stakes environment, the need for specialized, tech-oriented errors and omissions (E&O) coverage has never been greater.
The new Technology Errors & Omissions product from Atain Specialty Insurance is engineered specifically to cover the risks faced by software and website designers and developers, hardware repair specialists, IT consultants, and the like. “There are so many fields within the tech segment, and so many people invested in that way of doing business, so there’s a lot of exposure out there,” observes John J. Pacitti, director, professional liability, at Atain Specialty Insurance Co., who oversaw roll-out of the product April 1 of this year.
Designed to cover first- and third-party risks, Atain’s Technology E&O product is written exclusively through Burns & Wilcox’s Special Risk Division, so retail brokers and agents and their clients gain access to a level of personalized, case-specific service and support they may not get from other tech E&O providers, according to Pacitti. “It gives us the ability to look at unique situations and be very, very flexible,” he explains. “We’re a non-admitted market, and when the situation calls for it, we’re more than willing to put together manuscript pricing, terms and conditions. That flexibility extends even to risk accommodation.”
Atain’s Technology E&O provides agents with a powerful way to expand the professional liability coverage options they offer clients and prospects. Pricing is competitive with other offerings in the field, as are the available coverage limits of $3 million/$5 million, according to Pacitti. What’s more, the product can be packaged with an optional cyber liability endorsement, also to address first- and third-party risks arising from Internet/ cyber communications, with maximum sub-limits of $100,000/$300,000. It provides protection in such instances as breach of network, invasion of privacy, infringement of intellectual property, and the like. Atain’s Technology E&O is designed to serve distinct niches of the tech sector. The list of target classes currently includes hardware repair, computer security, software design/ development, systems/IT consulting and website development.
To help agents capture a more diverse array of tech clients, Atain is likely to soon expand its list of target classes, he adds. “I anticipate this product really taking off as we move forward, which is why we’re planning to add a few more target classes next year.”
The current list of ineligible classes includes: adult content providers; bulletin boards/blogs/chat rooms; financial institutions; government (all levels); health care diagnosis/monitoring/treatment system design; Internet access providers; network security administrators; 911/emergency response system design; online casino/gaming operations; securities exchange; social networking sites; system design for aircraft applications; telecom companies; and universities.
Amid the rapidly shifting tech landscape, some of those ineligible classes could ultimately move into the target class category as Atain gets a clearer picture of risks.
