IT consulting work can extend from recommendations into implementation, migration and continuing support. The insurance question is whether the actual services and resulting contractual liabilities fit the quoted professional indemnity wording.
The decision that deserves the closest review
Map responsibility for system design, configuration, data migration and ongoing maintenance. Ask how technology errors, intellectual-property allegations and cyber-related events are handled, and whether a separate cyber policy is needed. Preserve the distinction between your own incident costs and a client’s claim about professional work.
A hypothetical example
An IT consultant recommends a platform and is later asked to perform the migration. Its original engagement covered advice only. Updating both the contract and the insurance description creates a clearer basis for comparing implementation-related quotations.
Professional-service allegations
Professional indemnity concerns allegations about professional services. Compare the accepted activities, claim and notification wording, prior-work provisions and exclusions. A higher limit cannot repair an activity that the wording does not accept.
Premiums, excesses and usable cover
Request quotations using the same business description, required limits and relevant dates. Put the annual premium, any instalment charges, excesses and important sublimits in one comparison. A cheaper premium can represent a different transfer of risk rather than the same cover at a better price.
| Comparison item | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Advice versus implementation revenue | Are migration and configuration activities expressly accepted? |
| Contract limits and service commitments | Which cyber events are excluded or sublimited? |
| Data access and third-party software dependencies | Are subcontracted developers included in the enquiry? |
Request the proposed wording and schedule, not just a price or certificate. Mark any difference that affects a real activity before deciding whether the premium saving is worthwhile.
Prepare an accurate insurance enquiry
Give each adviser a consistent description of the activities being insured. Include important contracts, changes since the previous enquiry and matters the insurer asks you to disclose. Do not guess answers merely to obtain a faster or cheaper quote; ask for clarification when the proposal wording is unclear.
Use a failed-project test when comparing policies
Take a representative client project and divide it into advice, implementation, testing and support. For each stage, identify which party can approve changes and who holds access to the client’s systems. Record the contractual promises about delivery, availability and recovery separately from the technical description.
Ask the adviser to explain the proposed response if a configuration mistake creates a client loss and if the consultancy itself suffers an intrusion. These are useful comparison questions because professional liability and incident-response spending need not follow the same terms. Clarify any overlapping or missing sections.
Include overseas work or sales in the UK business’s enquiry and confirm the accepted territories and jurisdictions.
A mistake to avoid
Buying cyber insurance and assuming it necessarily replaces professional indemnity for a failed implementation.
Check what happens after the policy starts
Ask who to contact when activities change or a potential claim arises. Understand the notification and consent process before arranging repairs, appointing specialists or settling a complaint. At renewal, compare the new documents with the accepted business description; continuity of a familiar brand does not prove continuity of every term.
Questions before choosing
Can one package contain both covers?
Some arrangements combine products, but compare each insuring section, trigger and limit rather than treating the package name as proof.
Does access to client data automatically make every loss a cyber claim?
No. Compare the event, the alleged service error and the relevant insuring sections. Ask for the boundary to be explained before choosing a package.
Sources and further reading
Research date: 6 October 2026. Refer to the current linked guidance and written provider or adviser terms when making a decision.