For many tech-focused businesses, a Businessowners Policy (BOP) with a cyber endorsement feels comprehensive.
It covers breach response.
It covers notification costs.
It may cover regulatory expenses and forensics.
But here’s the important distinction:
A cyber endorsement is typically designed to respond to data events.
It is not designed to respond to service failure.
And for technology companies, that difference matters.
When a tech client’s software fails, crashes, or causes a client financial loss, the claim often isn’t about stolen data.
It’s about performance.
Examples include:
These losses are tied to the failure of a technology service — not the theft of information.
And they often fall outside standard BOP cyber language.
Technology-driven businesses are increasingly service-based.
Revenue is tied to uptime.
Performance guarantees are written into contracts.
Client reliance is built into operations.
That means the largest exposure may not be a breach — it may be failure to perform.
Technology Errors & Omissions (Tech E&O) coverage is designed to fill this gap — covering third-party financial losses that result from tech service failures.
This is where many technology-driven businesses actually carry their largest liability exposure.
Cyber responds to the data event.
Tech E&O responds to the service failure.
Understanding where the BOP stops is the first step in cleaning up cyber-related coverage gaps for tech clients.
When reviewing a tech account, consider asking:
If the answer to any of those is yes, the coverage discussion should go beyond “cyber included.”
Cyber confusion stops when we clearly define what’s covered — and what isn’t.
And when that gap exists, it’s worth bringing in a professional liability conversation before a claim forces it.