A software bug can cost your customer money. A data breach can create investigation costs and privacy claims. SaaS startups review Tech E&O and Cyber together because one incident can create more than one kind of loss. The useful comparison is what each policy addresses and how the two fit your business and customer contracts.
Corgi helps software startups bring both into one insurance program, alongside General Liability, D&O and other coverage as the company grows. Here is how to compare them before your next enterprise deal.
The difference: software performance and security incidents
Tech E&O addresses covered claims that your technology product or services caused someone else a financial loss. Think of a calculation error, a failed integration or negligent implementation work that a customer relies on.
Cyber insurance addresses security and privacy exposures. Third-party coverage deals with claims made against your company. First-party coverage addresses your own incident-response costs, such as investigation, restoration or covered downtime, when those coverages are included.
The distinction is about the loss and the policy wording, not just the label on the incident. A bug can interrupt a customer's business. A bug can also expose customer data. Those are different buying questions even when the same release caused both.
The North Carolina Department of Insurance's coverage examples illustrate this split between first-party costs and third-party claims. When comparing a Corgi quote, review the Cyber and Tech E&O forms and the extensions selected for your business together.
Four SaaS incidents, two kinds of loss
These are hypothetical examples built to make the comparison practical. They are not customer claims or coverage decisions.
1. Your billing integration applies the wrong discount
A SaaS startup ships a billing integration that applies a discount twice. Its customer discovers a month of underbilling and demands compensation for the resulting loss.
Start with Tech E&O: the allegation is that the startup's technology work caused the customer's financial loss. Review whether the product and integration services are described in the policy, along with the treatment of the customer's demand, contractual obligations and defense costs. The startup's own cost to rewrite the code is a separate question.
2. A stolen account exposes customer records
An attacker uses a compromised administrator account to download customer records. The startup needs to investigate, work out who was affected and respond to customer claims.
Start with Cyber, then separate the costs. Investigation and notification are first-party response questions. Claims alleging a failure to protect data are third-party liability questions. Ask which of these are included, which need an endorsement and whether any sublimits apply.
3. Ransomware takes the product offline
A ransomware incident stops a SaaS platform for two days. The startup incurs recovery costs and loses subscription revenue. A customer also alleges that the outage caused a missed delivery deadline and lost sales.
There are two balance sheets to consider. The startup's recovery and lost income call for a review of its first-party Cyber and business-interruption terms. The customer's demand calls for a separate review of liability coverage, including how the Tech E&O and Cyber forms treat a security-related outage. Check waiting periods, shared limits and exclusions before assuming one policy handles every part.
4. An AI feature sends the wrong purchasing recommendation
A SaaS product's AI feature recommends an incorrect inventory order. A customer follows it, then alleges a financial loss when the stock cannot be sold.
Bring the AI feature into the coverage review explicitly. Corgi lists an AI and Algorithmic Liability endorsement among its available Tech E&O add-ons. Review the selected modules and wording for your actual product. Buying standard Tech E&O or Cyber alone does not answer whether an AI-output claim is included.
Why SaaS startups review Tech E&O and Cyber together
Enterprise customers rely on your product to perform and trust you with access to systems or data. Their insurance clause may ask for both Tech E&O and Cyber, sometimes under different names such as professional liability, privacy liability or network security liability.
Reviewing them together makes it easier to compare the requested protection with the activities you actually perform. It also brings questions about shared limits, exclusions and incident reporting into the same conversation.
A package can contain separate policies. It does not automatically mean two coverages share one policy or one limit. Ask what is being combined in your quote and what remains separate.
What to compare in the quote
The product and services being insured
Describe the software, APIs, implementation work, customer-system access and AI features you sell. Check that the quote is built around that business. A short product description is more useful than an industry label alone.
Limits, aggregates and retentions
Record the limit for each claim and for the policy year, the amount you pay before coverage responds, and any smaller limits for specific costs. Ask whether Tech E&O and Cyber have separate aggregates or draw from a shared total.
Defense and response costs
Check whether legal defense reduces the amount available for a settlement. For Cyber, identify which response services and expenses are included. A headline limit does not explain either point by itself.
The contract and the evidence
Place the customer's requested policies and limits beside the quote. Then collect the documents the customer asks for. The completed example in our Tech E&O guide shows how a quote can match an annual aggregate while still falling short of the requested each-claim limit.
Existing coverage and timing
Bring current declarations, endorsements, renewal dates and any required effective date. If you are replacing claims-made coverage, include its retroactive date in the review so continuity is addressed before you switch.
What does a startup package cost?
For eligible pre-revenue or early-revenue startups, Corgi's published planning range is $2,000–$4,000 a year for General Liability, Tech E&O and Cyber with $1 million limits. This is a three-coverage annual package estimate, not a standalone Cyber or Tech E&O price.
Your product, revenue, customer requirements, limits and coverage choices affect the quote. A contract asking for higher limits needs to be compared with a quote at those limits. Use the startup insurance cost guide for stage-by-stage budgeting, then compare the full package rather than premium alone.
Why software startups choose Corgi
Corgi brings Tech E&O, Cyber, D&O and General Liability together for software startups. The aim is practical: put the policies, limits and documents around the business you are building and the deals you are signing.
Eragon needed to meet a major enterprise customer's insurance requirements. Corgi handled the policies, limits and certificates, and founder Josh Sirota says the contract closed in days.
Intryc CEO Alex Marantelos described a five-minute application, packaged coverage choices and direct support from the Corgi team. Both stories show the value of having one team work through the insurance purchase with the customer requirements in view.
Bring the contract. Build the right package.
Before your next quote, gather three things:
- The insurance clause from your next important customer contract.
- A clear description of your product, data access and services.
- Your existing policies, renewal dates and target coverage date.
Explore insurance for SaaS companies, then bring those details to Corgi. We will help you review Tech E&O and Cyber together, alongside the other policies your startup needs for its next milestone.
