I started TechInsurance in 1997 after a client asked me to find professional liability insurance for his start up IT consulting business. Finding the coverage he needed at an affordable price was an unpleasant and time consuming experience. It occurred to me that if I could make the process very efficient that IT people would be more inclined than most small business owners to look for business insurance online. For once I was right. We now insure more than 13,000 independent contractors and IT services business. Over the past few years we have expanded to offer coverage to firms outside of IT at our Business Insurance Now site. But we like IT best.

What sort of insurance do you offer/broker to technicians? What are some basic things that each of these cover?

Many times our clients are driven by contract requirements. Their contract might require them to carry General Liability or Workers’ Compensation insurance, and sometimes Professional Liability insurance. In many cases these clients are focused at satisfying the contract at the lowest possible price. That is fine. We are solving a business issue for these clients and are happy to do that. In other cases, our clients are primarily concerned about protecting their business. These clients are more focused identifying and addressing the risks they have as an IT services firm.

The most common types of insurance we provide IT business are General Liability, Workers’ Compensation and Professional Liability.

Basically General Liability and Property covers you in the event that someone comes on you business premises and is injured, or you go to a client’s site and injure someone, or damage some property. These policies can be bundled with coverage that insure your business property (computers, etc.) in the event of theft or fire.

Workers Compensation is coverage for “on the job” injury your company employees. It provides medical and disability coverage and can also include coverage for the employer’s liability in the event an employee is hurt. It is required by law in many states.

Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance provides coverage in the event you are sued by a client alleging that an error or omissions in the delivery of your technical services resulted in a financial loss on the part of your client—lost data, network penetration, software failure, etc. These can be expensive claims.

What is the bare minimum amount or type of insurance a new onsite computer repair business should have (assuming they are very tight on money)?

They should carry $1,000,000 in General Liability (including coverage for their property so that damage to client property is covered) and they should carry $1,000,000 in Professional Liability. The $1,000,000 figure is sort of the universal standard and you don’t save much is anything by carrying less.

What is the ideal coverage for a computer repair business (assuming money is not an issue)?

Actually the ideal and minimum are the same. However, as companies grow, add employees, and take on bigger projects their risks change.

If a technician is working out of a home office, does the homeowners insurance cover the tech?

Some homeowner policies can be endorsed to include General Liability insurance. But these polices may limit coverage to claims that occur at the residence. It is important to understand that these policies also do not cover Errors and Omissions.

When a computer business needs to take on employees, do they need to change their insurance policy?
Employees make Workers’ Compensation insurance a necessity. We also see that our clients get more concerned about Errors and Omissions when they are no longer doing all the work.

What’s the worst that can happen to an uninsured computer technician?

Without the right type of insurance, if a technician makes a mistake he or she can get sued and not have the resources to handle the customer’s demand for compensation. This can include the cost to restore data, replace equipment, lost revenue or other damages.

Where can we go to find out more about your insurance products for techs, or to receive a quote?

We have a pretty informative site and online application at http://www.techinsurance.com. Currently, we are only able to provide coverage to US based consultants.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Interview with TechInsurance.com

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Technibble Interview on Podnutz.com – A Computer Repair Podcast

You can download the MP3 here or stream it from Geekazines web player here.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Technibble on Geekazine Tech Podcast

IT Support Melbourne:
Hi,

Well just wondering whether its a good idea to display prices for repairs on the website ? As I’ve seen according to the site stats, one of the top exit pages appears to be the price list page.

Does it defer potential customers from calling, as they got something to compare with ?

Also, if you could comment on the price list page / graphics on http://www.techitez.com.au/computer-repairs-price-list.html

Kind Regards.

Really good question. If it was my site I would test both approaches and see which one results in the most calls. However, I personally believe that a page without prices would do better.

The big question for you is are you competing on price or some other benefit?
What benefits do I get by calling you for the job? Are you insured? have 10 years of experience under your belt? will you be on time? will you have a friendly smile?

If you are a little more expensive than someone else but display all these benefits that the other sites are not displaying, you will probably get the call. I know *I* would pay a little bit extra for someone who has years of experience and will be on time.

I would put a “from $XX” on the website and have the phone number below it. Once you have them on the phone it allows you to sell yourself better and use a closing technique “Sure, I have fixed many computers with that problem. Would you like to book a time? I am available tomorrow if you like”. This also takes advantage of human laziness since they have you on the phone already, they might as well use you instead of spending more time calling around.

Steve Stone:
The people living in my immediate area are not willing to pay the going rate for tech support.
Most don’t want to pay anything for computer repair.
People in adjoining counties to the south and east on average make more money and are willing to pay the going rate. The problem is 100 mile round trips for me and the price of gas. My solution has been cut a little off my charges if the equipment is dropped off at my site for repair. Any thoughts or comments ?

It sounds like you are marketing to the wrong people. There will always be people who wont pay you because they have a cousin who “knows computers”. I had a similar problem in my early years when I was still living with my parents.

I was brought up in a typical middle class suburb and my advertising was covering all suburbs within a 30 minute driving radius.
If I drove 30 minutes in one direction I would hit homes with some of the lowest income in my city. If I drove 30 minutes in the other direction, I would hit some of the highest income homes in my city.

The attitudes towards my prices were totally different in each area. In the low income areas they would often try to negotiate my already inexpensive prices. They had a certain negative attitude towards me because I believed that I earned mid $XX per hour and they only earned in the low teens. They didn’t understand that there is lots of unbillable time I have to do and much of my earnings goes back into advertising, stock etc.. To them, I was essentially the guy taking a chunk of money out of their pockets for something they didn’t really want to spend money on.

In the high income areas, working for the residential market there was a much higher chance that the client owns a business and they need the computer for business purposes. They understand that it takes money to make money and they treat you as they would want to be treated, as a professional. These people “thanked me for saving them” which is very different to what I was getting in low income areas.

If you don’t have such a wide range of income in the residential market near you, I would try just focusing on business in your area. Businesses understand that it takes money to make money and fixing computer is a small cost to get get things going again.

Also, when price is an issue, focus on the benefits of choosing you over someone else with lower prices like I said to “IT Support Melbourne” above.

Chris:
How do you recommend to make the transition from being that guy that’s really good with computers to that company that fixes computers?

That is what this website was created for so the best thing to do is to read though Technibbles articles, especially the Starting Out and Selling You Services sections.

Read through the articles, research what you are going to do and what your prices are going to be, visit an accountant to make it all official and then just make a start.

izzy d:
Do you think offering a service where the client pays a flat fee and can call me whenever there is a problem..is this a good model

I think this is too open-ended. Once they know they have you on their leash by paying a flat fee, you may find they will be calling you onsite for a lot of small things they wouldn’t have called about before. You may find yourself doing a lot of work for not much money.

A better way to do this is to get them to prepay hours at a discounted rate with a maintenance contract. If you don’t have one you can get one from our Computer Business Kit.

jersey joe:
A new Dell Vostro 1000 15.4″ laptop is $400.
Almost any significant repair is at least half that amount.
Why would anybody pay for a normal repair when you can just buy a new laptop for $400?
Joe

This is a good point and there has been a lot of discussion about the home computer repair technician going the way of the VCR/TV technician; where its just cheaper to buy a new one.

However, the computer technicians have a advantage. Most people don’t know how to migrate all their data over from their old computer to the new one. Some don’t even know how to setup a computer.

Printers, modems, digital cameras, antiviruses and other software all need to be setup on a new computer whereas all you had to do in the VCR days was to set the time and hook up the RCA cables.

You may not get the job to repair the old computer, but you can still sell the service of recovering/transferring their old data and setting their new computer up.

Tim:
What has everybody else found to be their most effective form of advertising. I could have burned the thousands of dollars I’ve spent on advertising and been just as happy.

I think just about everyone is going to say that “word of mouth” is their best form of advertising. However, word of mouth requires that you have a handful of clients first. When I was first starting out the free local weekly newspaper and letterbox drops were the best for me.

Some of the members on the forums are saying that corriboard signs posted on telephone poles at busy intersections worked very well for them. Some other members have also had great success with Craigslist.

I wish I could give you the magic bullet and tell you what works well for you, but unfortunately its different for every area. While the corriboard signs worked great for one member, it didn’t work well for another member. The person that it didn’t work well for suspected that he doesn’t get the traffic in his town that the other member gets. It all depends on your location and you need to find what works for you.

Steve:
Hi,
I am in search of the good online backup company that can be an excellent tool for my customers and at the same time make me some profit. What would be your recommendation?
Thanks

I don’t use any 3rd party online backup services so I cannot recommend one (my backups go to a remote location that I own). Perhaps the Technibble readers can leave a recommendation in a comment?

Thanks for submitting your questions guys. I enjoyed answering them.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Answers to Questions and Answers #2

Today, you guys can ask me almost any question you want in regards to the computer business and I will have the answers in Fridays post.

These can be “what would you do if…” type questions. Questions about brands, competition, marketing, whatever!

Please refrain from commenting on other peoples comments as it makes it easier to answer questions.

To ask a question, just click the “Comment” link below this text. As always, you don’t have to sign up to comment and you can even post anonymously.

Fire away.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Questions and Answers #2

You can download the MP3 HERE.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Technibble on Podnutz – A DIY Computer Repair Podcast

You can download the mp3 here (27mb)

Or stream it using The Force Fields player here.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Technibble on “The Force Field”

In the interview we talk about:

• Dealing with Time Wasters
• Dealing with Homes and Businesses
• Setting Prices
• When does a hobby become a business & overheads.
• Advertising and Effectiveness
• Good Paperwork
• Dealing with Family

Listen Now! (to download, right click and “Save As..”)

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Technibble Interview on Computer America

My computer education started before the end of high school. In today’s world, that is not so “out-of-the-ordinary”, but in 1978, there were no home computers. I studied the macro and FORTRAN IV languages on an IBM 360/70 and a PDP 11.

By contrast, all of the 14 high schools I manage support for offer the Comtia course work (for the A+ certification) locally at the schools. If you also attend the Career Enrichment Center (an alternative school in our district), you can become certified with Microsoft (MCSE, MCP, MSCT), Cisco, Digital Media – right as you are leaving high school. You can have skills for immediate employment.

I served in the Navy after High School, and upon my discharge 4 years later, I realized much of what I did in the Navy was not a direct match to anything on land. I understood electronics, that helped, but in the desert I called home, there are no aircraft carriers to be seen. I entered the University of New Mexico for 2 years for the Computer Science coursework. As I progressed, so did the need for more knowledge. I obtained certification in Laser Electro-Optic Technology, and basic computer repair from Comptia. Later on, I went back to school for Oracle DB management. Later on, I went back to school for project management.

What do you enjoy most about your career?

The most important thing in a career is pride. That is the difference between a career and a job. The most important thing in a job is dollars. I have pride in my work.

Our district uses technology in every aspect of our educational process. My job requires that I am knowledgeable in many different technologies. My training has covered telephony, networking, applications, programming and of course, customer service. It pays to come into a job such as this with certification in computer networking or applications right away. Other aspects can be taught OJT, but proving an aptitude for technology is imperative. That takes paper. You get paper by completing training.

How have your experiences in previous positions contributed to your success?

I have worked in technology my entire working career. All of these experiences have added something to the collective whole that is the intellectual property that I bring to the table.

I must point to my experience at Honeywell, Inc. in the development of software for the Boeing 777 aircraft as a huge milestone. Being certified in ADA programming, and using that skill for code that is flying on the jet, has certainly opened doors for me after the plane certified.

Also, I learned a simple adage that the job is never done until the paperwork is complete. Documentation, configuration management and revision control of documents were a must in getting FAA Black Label certification for the aircraft. I spearheaded the documentation effort and learned a great deal about the business of programming.

Another interesting spin on technology and perhaps one of the highest paying is sales. I worked as a network consultant for US West (back then that was the name). This position required that I contact businesses, get permission to examine their phone network, and recommend changes. This required a very detailed knowledge of digital phone systems, voice-over-ip, DSS, and telephony software. If my changes were applied (sold), I received 4% of the total of the phone contract (their monthly bill times 84 months). That was lucrative. That was Arizona; Qwest now is not seen as the shining some of telephony anymore and state regulations have closed some laws that allowed that business to thrive. It is hard to cold call businesses, but once you get used to it, there is money to be made. And business owners love to listen to gurus.

© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out these narrated, high definition videos. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.

Interview with Robert Gail (IT Helpdesk Supervisor)