Insurance for Venture Backed and Founder Led Teams
New York startups move fast. Customers, landlords, and investors ask for specific insurance before they sign. Refine Risk designs insurance programs that let you clear those requirements without slowing your roadmap. We align coverage with your contracts, your security posture, and your stage of growth.
We serve software, fintech, healthtech, life sciences, consumer, and services businesses across New York City and the state. We also support teams that hire remote employees and sell across the U.S.
What New York Startups Need from Insurance
Startups buy insurance for two reasons. Risk transfer and contract compliance. Your program should do both.
Customer and vendor contracts. Enterprise buyers often require general liability, cyber, and technology errors and omissions. Many ask for additional insured status, primary and noncontributory wording, and waiver of subrogation.
Leases and workspaces. NYC landlords and coworking agreements typically require general liability with specific limits and endorsements. Many ask for per location aggregates and evidence of tenant improvements coverage.
Investors and boards. Directors and officers liability becomes important once you form a board, raise institutional capital, or sign large MSAs.
Regulation and certifications. SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, and NY privacy laws influence cyber and E&O terms. Proof of incident response and vendor management can improve underwriting.
Hiring your first employee. New York requires workers’ compensation and disability benefits with paid family leave. These are separate from health insurance.
Your insurance should reflect how you sell, how you host or deploy, and how you employ.
Must Have Insurance Coverages for Startups by Stage
The right timing keeps spend efficient and contracts compliant.
Pre‑seed to Seed
Focus on landlord and customer basics.
- General Liability. Premises liability and basic product or completed operations liability.
- Business Personal Property. Computers, furniture, and tenant improvements. Consider equipment away from premises for laptops and demos.
- Cyber Liability. Privacy, security, incident response, and business interruption from system outages. Required by many enterprise customers and platforms.
- Technology Errors and Omissions. Coverage for financial loss a customer claims from your software or services. Often required with cyber in MSAs.
- Workers’ Compensation and NY DBL/PFL. Mandatory when you hire employees in New York. DBL and PFL are separate from workers’ comp.
Series A to Series B
Add protection for the leadership team and the growing workforce.
- Directors and Officers (D&O). Governance and securities claims against the company and its directors. Often requested by investors and board members.
- Employment Practices Liability (EPLI). Allegations of harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, or retaliation.
- Crime and Social Engineering. Coverage for employee theft and fraudulent fund transfers.
- Hired and Non‑Owned Auto. Protection when employees drive personal vehicles for work.
Growth stage and later
Increase limits and address scale.
- Higher cyber and tech E&O limits, often tied to revenue and contract sizes.
- Umbrella or excess liability to increase total limits above general liability and auto.
- International package if you open foreign entities or send staff abroad.
- Fiduciary liability when you launch a 401(k) or health plan subject to ERISA.
New York Employer Requirements
When you hire your first New York employee you must carry:
- Workers’ Compensation. Covers work‑related injuries and illnesses.
- Disability Benefits Law (DBL). Short‑term disability for off‑the‑job injuries or illness.
- Paid Family Leave (PFL). Paid time for family care and bonding. Administered with DBL.
These are separate from health insurance. They apply even if your office is outside New York and the employee works from home in the state.
Contract Terms that Appear in NYC Leases and Enterprise MSAs
- Additional Insured. Extends your liability policy to the landlord or customer for specified claims.
- Primary and Noncontributory. Your policy responds before the other party’s policy.
- Waiver of Subrogation. Your insurer waives the right to recover from the other party after a paid claim.
- Per Location Aggregate. A separate general liability aggregate per office location.
- Cyber and Tech E&O limits by contract value. Procurement teams often tie limits to deal size and data sensitivity.
We review contracts and issue certificates that match the required wording.
Guidance for New York Area Founders
SaaS and Data Platforms
Prioritize cyber and tech E&O. Include media liability for copyright or defamation. Confirm coverage for outages caused by third‑party providers. Map limits to your largest contract and data volume.
Fintech and Payments
Add crime coverage and strengthen cyber controls. Some models require surety or license‑related bonds. Review vendor due diligence from banks and processors. Align insurance with your compliance program.
Healthtech and Digital Health
Pair cyber and tech E&O with regulatory coverage for privacy events. If clinicians provide care under your entity, consider medical professional liability. For studies, review clinical trial liability.
Hardware, Devices, and IoT
Add product liability and recall expense. Use inland marine for property in transit and at demos. Include cyber for connected devices and data.
Life Sciences and Biotech
Consider product liability, clinical trial liability, and property for lab equipment and research materials. D&O becomes important as you raise capital and expand your board.
Consumer and eCommerce
Focus on product liability, property for inventory, cyber for customer data, and business interruption tied to supply chain or platform outages.
Remote Teams and Multi‑State Hiring
Hiring in other states can trigger workers’ compensation and employer coverage in those states. Confirm pay‑as‑you‑go options for payroll changes. Keep certificates current for co-working desks and short‑term offices. If you sell outside the United States, review foreign liability and privacy requirements.
Sample Coverage Map by Stage
| Stage | Triggers | Key coverages | Typical starting limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre‑seed | First office or coworking, first enterprise pilot | GL, BPP, Cyber, Tech E&O, WC, DBL/PFL | GL 1M/2M, Cyber 1M, Tech E&O 1M |
| Seed | Paid pilots, growing team | Add HNOA, Crime, higher Cyber/E&O | Cyber 1M–3M, Tech E&O 1M–3M |
| Series A | Board in place, larger MSAs | Add D&O, EPLI | D&O 1M–3M, EPLI 1M |
| Growth | $10M+ ARR or large data sets | Higher Cyber/E&O, Umbrella, International | Limits scale with revenue and contracts |
Limits depend on contracts, revenue, data, and security controls. We adjust as you scale.
Common New York Scenarios and How Insurance Responds
Slip and fall at a Manhattan office
General liability and property respond. Certificates for the landlord include additional insured, primary and noncontributory, and waiver of subrogation.
Customer alleges financial loss from an API outage
Technology E&O and cyber respond to defense and damages, including regulatory notifications if data is affected.
Phishing leads to a fraudulent wire
Crime and cyber address social engineering and funds transfer fraud when endorsed.
Employment claim after a reduction in force
Employment practices liability responds to defense and settlements within policy terms.
Injury to a New York remote employee
Workers’ compensation applies based on the employee’s location, even if the company is headquartered elsewhere.
Security Controls that Improve Cyber and E&O Terms
- Multi‑factor authentication for privileged and remote access
- Endpoint detection and response with centralized logging
- Regular backups with immutability and offline copies
- Vendor management and contract review for critical providers
- Incident response playbooks with tested table‑top exercises
Underwriters often credit these controls with better pricing and higher limits.
How Refine Risk Works with Startups
- Discovery. We review contracts, security posture, headcount, and runway.
- Coverage design. We map coverage to your stage and largest obligations.
- Placement. We secure terms from carriers that support growth and technology risk.
- Certificates. We issue COIs that match lease and MSA wording.
- Renewal planning. We adjust limits to match new contracts and funding.
We operate with clear timelines and direct communication with your team and counsel.
What We Need to Quote Fast
- Current policies and limits if in place
- Customer and landlord insurance requirements
- Security controls and any certifications such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001
- Employee count by state and hiring plan
- Revenue, contracts by size, and data types handled
Accurate details help us deliver terms that clear procurement without delay.
What Founders Should Know About Insurance
Which policies do enterprise customers ask for most often
Cyber and technology E&O are the most common. General liability is standard for premises risk and basic product or completed operations. Many contracts require specific endorsements and minimum limits.
Do we need D&O before we raise a priced round
D&O becomes relevant when you form a board, add independent directors, or sign larger MSAs. Some seed investors request it earlier. We align timing with your governance and contracts.
How do New York DBL and PFL work with workers’ compensation
Workers’ compensation covers work injuries and illness. DBL and PFL cover off‑the‑job disability and family leave. They are separate and required for New York employees.
Will a certificate alone satisfy a contract
A certificate is evidence only. The policy must include the required limits and wording. We issue COIs that reflect the actual policy endorsements.
Can we start with basic limits and increase later
Yes. Many programs scale over the first 12 to 24 months. We raise limits as contracts and revenue grow.
How fast can we get proof of insurance
Once policies are active we can issue certificates that align with your contracts. We support same‑day requests whenever possible.
Work with Refine Risk
We design insurance for New York startups that need to move through procurement and landlord reviews without friction. The focus is clarity, compliance, and protection that scales.
Request a consultation. We will review your contracts and current coverage, then deliver a program that supports your next milestones.