Business Insurance for PC Builders

Yes, bailee insurance protects your business from the costs associated with accidental damage to customer items in your care, custody, or control. You can add bailee coverage to your general liability insurance as an endorsement.

Examples of situations where bailee coverage would cover your business:

• A PC builder accidentally knocks a customer's laptop off a counter
• A technician spills a drink inside a case and damages a motherboard
• Your shop experiences a break-in, and your client's computer is damaged in the process

You'll need separate insurance coverage for your own possessions that travel to clients' homes and offices, as bailee coverage only protects client property.

Tools and equipment insurance, also known as inland marine insurance, covers movable property, such as tools brought to job sites or stored off-site. Commercial property insurance covers items stored at your business address but not those in transit, which is why you may need this coverage.

Yes, PC repair companies need professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions insurance (E&O). Although not mandated by law, clients often require it to sign contracts, as it protects them from potential losses related to your services.

Professional liability offers your business protection against lawsuits related to professional negligence and errors. This coverage is often bundled with third-party cyber insurance in a policy called tech E&O, or technology professional liability insurance.

Tech E&O helps pay liability costs in several scenarios, including:

• A technician misplaces a client's motherboard
• Settings on a new PC get misconfigured and cause a data breach
• A PC isn't built in a way that meets industry standards
• A computer builder fails to deliver new computers by an agreed-upon deadline

Professional liability / E&O is a claims-made policy, which means your coverage must be active both when the incident occurred and when the claim was filed in order to file your claim. However, you can set a retroactive date to cover incidents that happened before you had coverage, if needed.

PC builders also need cyber insurance to cover data breaches and cyberattacks at your PC building shop. This policy is a great investment for small businesses.

Small companies are often targeted because of their limited defenses, but cyber insurance helps pay for cyber investigations, ransomware attacks, and notification costs that can add up quickly.

There are two kinds of cyber insurance, both equally important for PC builders:

• First-party cyber insurance: Protects against data breaches and cyberattacks that affect your PC building business directly, such as a DDoS attack that overwhelms your network.
• Third-party cyber insurance: Helps pay for legal costs when a client blames your PC building company for failing to prevent a data breach or cyberattack at their business.

When you buy tech E&O, it includes both types of cyber insurance, along with errors and omissions insurance to protect against other lawsuits from dissatisfied clients.

You can often add first-party cyber coverage to your general liability insurance or a business owner's policy (BOP). Tech E&O insurance bundles cyber insurance with errors and omissions insurance and includes third-party cyber coverage.

PC builders may need additional insurance policies to protect against other exposures:

• Business owner's policy (BOP) bundles general liability coverage with commercial property insurance to protect against common lawsuits and business property damage. This bundle is usually less expensive than purchasing these policies separately.
• Commercial property insurance covers repair or replacement costs if a fire, storm, vandalism, or other incident damages or destroys your business property or its contents. You can also add equipment breakdown insurance as an endorsement to help your business recover from machinery failure.
• Business interruption insurance, also called business income insurance, helps your PC building business recover financially from a temporary closure tied to a covered property claim. It's often included in your property insurance or BOP.
• Electronic data processing (EDP) insurance protects your electronic equipment, including storage devices and computers, if you experience data loss due to a power surge, fire, or covered natural disaster.

It's easy to save money on business insurance through a few simple steps:

• Shop around. Get quotes from several insurance companies to find pricing that matches your budget. TechInsurance makes this possible with one easy online application.
• Bundle policies. When you buy policies from the same provider, it's often possible to combine coverages for a discount. The most common bundles are a business owner's policy and tech E&O.
• Pay the annual premium. Insurers offer two options when it comes to paying your premium: monthly or annual payments. Paying the full annual amount usually costs less.
• Risk management. Avoid costly claims that can increase your premiums by reducing your risks. Eliminate clutter that could cause accidents, use detailed written contracts, and include redundancy in your systems.
• Implement cybersecurity measures. Safety and data protection measures, such as multi-factor authentication, can help protect your business from potential cybersecurity incidents, like ransomware attacks.
• Personalize your coverage for your needs. Picking lower coverage limits or a higher deductible can reduce your premium. However, choose a deductible you can afford to pay if you file a claim.