SaaS insurance checklist: contracts, data, people and funding
Start with four facts: what customers rely on, what data and access you hold, where employees work and what investors or contracts require. Use the checklist to build one accurate information packet, then compare coverage against those facts.
- Begin with the current obligation
- Prepare one information packet
- Recheck material changes
Identify the decision and its date
- 1
Customer contract: save the MSA, statement of work, SLA and insurance exhibit.
- 2
Hiring: list employee start dates, work states, duties and payroll.
- 3
Financing: collect D&O requirements and board or ownership changes.
- 4
Renewal: gather current forms, loss information and changes since the previous application.
Match the operation to the coverage question
| Your operation | Coverage to examine | Check this distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Customers rely on your software | Tech E&O | Customer financial loss differs from the cost of fixing your own work. |
| You hold data or depend on hosted services | Cyber | Your incident costs differ from liability to others. |
| You hire employees | Workers’ compensation and EPLI | Work injury differs from employment-practices allegations. |
| You raise capital or add directors | D&O | Management claims differ from product-performance claims. |
| You lease space or own equipment | GL and property | Liability to others differs from your own property loss. |
Prepare the information once
Use this list as you prepare. Checks stay on this page and are not submitted.
A first enterprise sale changes two questions
Hypothetical example · illustrates a distinction, not a coverage decision
Hypothetical example: a SaaS company already has an office liability policy and is about to sign a production customer. The customer requests E&O and cyber plus an endorsement under general liability.
Review the new professional and data exposures, and compare the requested endorsement with the GL wording. Raising the GL limit alone does not address all three requests.
Keep a running change log
Record new products, material integrations, customer industries, work states, subsidiaries and known incidents when they arise. Check policy notification conditions instead of waiting automatically for renewal.
When comparing replacement coverage, preserve the current claims-made dates and identify changes in definitions, exclusions, aggregates and retentions.
Common questions
Do all SaaS companies need the same limits?
No. Compare actual contracts, realistic loss scenarios, shared aggregates and the amount the company can retain. Revenue or funding stage alone is not a limit calculation.
Should we mark planned security controls as complete?
No. Describe current facts accurately and clearly identify planned changes and their expected dates.
Sources and further reading
Policy terms vary. These primary references explain the distinctions above; carrier examples describe their own products.
- Travelers: Technology E&O risks ↗Insured services, contract claims, delays and IP wording vary. Product examples are carrier-specific.
- FTC: Cyber insurance ↗Own incident costs and liability to others.
- California DOI: Workers’ compensation ↗California-specific requirements; check each employee work state.
Put the details to work.
Use the related explanations, or start a quote with your business information and requirements.
Get a quote