What To Look For In A Computer Repair Insurance Plan

Risks are associated with every business, no matter which sector you work in. However, when you deal directly with the personal possessions of your customers, such as in computer repairs, you need to be extra careful not to damage your customer’s property during your work.

Despite your best efforts to be careful, accidents do happen. You can never predict what will happen or when, but you cannot run your business in the hope that nothing untoward will ever occur.

It makes sense that UK business owners should take out insurance to cover themselves. For someone running an IT repair company, you should take out computer repair insurance.

What Is Insurance For Computer Technicians?

We all know that computer technicians go above and beyond for their customers. Computer repairs are always in great demand from both business and personal clients. With so much of our everyday life relying on modern technology, computer technicians’ services are invaluable.

But computer technicians need to be protected to help maintain their professional competence. This can be done by taking out insurance to cover any compensation claims and legal fees raised by a customer in the event of an accident where their IT equipment gets damaged beyond repair.

What Might Computer Repair Shop Insurance Cover?

A few common types of insurance coverage are available to IT professionals, and your policy can be tailored to meet your needs.

Whether you are a solo operative running your own computer repair shop in your local community or you provide your repair services to business clients only, you will need computer repair technician insurance. Your policy may include the following elements:

• Professional Negligence & Data Loss:Otherwise known as Errors and Omissions insurance, which is considered to be the most critical coverage for a computer repair technician. Should a client claim that a problem with your technical services caused them financial loss or loss of sensitive data, this could be catastrophic for your business and your reputation. This insurance will protect you against expensive claims of loss of client data, claims of your non-performance, software or system failure, or network penetration.

• Buildings & Contents Insurance:If you are running a brick-and-mortar computer repair shop, you will need to cover for loss or damage to your property on your premises. If you own your premises, then building’s insurance will protect you from property damage such as fire, flood, storm damage and any other accidental physical damage that affects the building structure. Content’s insurance will cover losses for destroyed or damaged property, such as electronic devices, fixtures and fittings, supplies, furniture, tools and essential equipment.

• Employers Liability Insurance:You must take out employer’s liability insurance if you employ staff. It is required by law. You won’t need this cover if you run a solo operation alone. This provides cover for your employees if they are hurt at work or fall ill due to your business.

• Public Liability Insurance:This is must-have insurance when dealing face to face with customers. Should a customer come into your business premises and have an accident where they get injured or their personal property gets damaged, you will be protected against compensation claims made against you.

•  Business Interruption Insurance:In the event that you have to shut down your computer repair shop for weeks to clean up and repair your premises, a business interruption insurance claim can cover your income losses and see you through until your business is back up and running again.

Can A Computer Repair Shop Be Sued For Failing to Repair A Laptop or PC?

It is entirely possible that a disgruntled customer could sue you for failing to repair their item. Should the customer find they are still having the same problem, or they discover a new one shortly after their laptop or PC has been returned, they can make a claim against you.

However, this isn’t straightforward. The customer’s right to make a claim will be based on whether or not you acted reasonably and on what the contract or work order says.

As long as you can prove that you took all reasonable steps to diagnose and fix the issue with the laptop or PC, your customer may not be legally entitled to claim compensation.

It should be made clear in your company and service information that you cannot guarantee that everything will go perfectly. You can state that you will carry out your work as any reasonably competent person would in your profession, but you should make no solid guarantees.

However, if a customer can prove negligence or carelessness with the repair, they can consider taking legal action. They may do this by getting evidence and a second opinion from another computer repair company.

Can A Customer Sue An IT Repair Company For Losing Their Data?

It is an unfortunate risk that some stored data may be lost as part of the repair process. Sometimes it is necessary to re-format a laptop or PC’s internal or external hard drive(s) and re-install an operating system that can lead to data loss. These procedures usually are only carried out as a last resort and only after all other repair options have been exhausted.

Where possible, all data should be backed up to a separate drive before any re-installation or hard drive re-formatting. Re-formatting a hard disc drive will erase data contained on it. Re-installing an operating system (such as Microsoft Windows®) will return the computer to its factory settings, erasing all existing data.

Data can also be lost through other means, such as spyware or virus corrupting data files and folders. The only way to maintain data and protect against loss is to perform regular data backups.

While a customer can sue you for data loss and be successful, you can protect yourself and avoid this outcome by taking out the digital business insurance.

It can also help to protect yourself by posting a service disclaimer that you won’t accept any responsibility for loss of computer data or software, however, caused, including any alleged loss sustained during an attempt at data recovery.

A customer can still claim against you for data loss, but by accepting your disclaimer as part of their customer agreement, they will be less likely to make a successful claim against you.

Conclusion

No one wants to experience an accident or event that can seriously affect your computer repair business. But the risks are there, and the only practical way of protecting yourself is by taking out the right insurance for computer repair shops.

By protecting your business against these risks, you will always have a safety net in place for when things go wrong. Your insurance will provide you with invaluable benefits at minimal costs. When it comes to business insurance, trust Brisco Business to provide you with tailored solutions.

Mark McPherson

Mark McPherson has an MA in Creative Writing and has been crafting content for over a decade. He writes for a range of niches, including the construction industry and insurance sector.

All articles by Mark McPherson