The Australian Computer Society (ACS) and OAMPS Insurance Brokers have announced the formation of a strategic alliance designed to support and encourage young ICT entrepreneurs.

The $20 million alliance will see indemnity insurance provided for young entrepreneurs, what the ACS has described as a safety net for clients of young innovators.

The first initiative delivered through the alliance is a safeguard insurance policy for all members of the ACS earning less than $25,000 in consulting fees. This professional indemnity and general liability package includes a limit of liability of $10,000,000 for each claim, and $20,000,000 in the aggregate.

ACS CEO Alan Patterson said "Everyone needs to get their start somewhere, and securing your first sale or consultancy is challenging: the purchaser of your services needs assurance that not only will you deliver what you have promised, but that there are safeguards in place protecting you both."

The ACS professional indemnity safeguards includes covering defective work and failure to perform pursuant to a contract, product recall protection, world-wide coverage(with exceptions being those who reside in the USA/Canada region and sanction affected countries), and the cover for sub-contracted work.

"Structuring the insurance offering in this way recognises the nature of tech start-ups," Mr Patterson said.

"For young ACS members, it is not uncommon to be studying while also working on your start-up idea. You pitch for a number of jobs and then find that a number come through together. All of a sudden you don’t have the capacity. Under this agreement, you can bring in support through sub-contracting arrangements and remain protected." Mr Patterson said.

"Additionally, the world is a small place today, and we see many of our young members collaborating across international borders. This agreement recognises that IT is a global marketplace and affords protection as such." Mr Patterson said.