AI DEVELOPER vs. DEPLOYER INSURANCE
"We just use a vendor's AI" is not the shield people think it is. Liability attaches at every link of the chain — building, fine-tuning, deploying, or simply using — and the standard exclusions don't care which one you are. Your role shapes the exposure; it doesn't erase it.
BUILD IT, TUNE IT, OR JUST USE IT — YOU'RE STILL IN THE CHAIN
FOUR ROLES, FOUR DIFFERENT EXPOSURES
Generative AI passes through several hands before it touches a customer. Liability can attach at any of them — and most businesses occupy more than one role without realizing it.
DEVELOPER
Builds or trains a base model from scratch.
Owns model behaviorMODIFIER
Fine-tunes, retrains, or substantially modifies a model.
Owns the changesDEPLOYER
Builds AI into a product or service for customers.
Owns the deploymentUSER
Uses an AI tool to run the business day to day.
Owns the output it usesWHERE DOES YOUR BUSINESS SIT?
Answer a couple of quick questions. We'll place you on the value chain and show what liability attaches to your position — and why none of them is a free pass.
"SUBSTANTIAL MODIFICATION" CHANGES YOUR RISK
One question reshapes how a model's behavior is attributed to you: have you substantially modified it? Fine-tuning or retraining moves you from "using someone's tool" toward "owning how it behaves" — and underwriters ask about it directly.
YOU USE IT AS SHIPPED
You run a vendor's model with its built-in behavior and guardrails intact. You still own the outputs you act on — but you have not changed how the model itself works.
YOU FINE-TUNED OR RETRAINED IT
You trained the model on your own data, altered its behavior, or changed its guardrails. Now the model's outputs reflect your choices — and more of the responsibility for what it produces moves to you.
THE VENDOR CONTRACT IS NOT YOUR SHIELD
People assume the AI vendor absorbs the risk. The terms usually say the opposite. Highlight what a typical agreement actually does to your liability.
The Service and all outputs are provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, including accuracy or fitness for a particular purpose. You are solely responsible for your use of the outputs and any decisions or actions based on them.
You agree to indemnify and hold the provider harmless from any third-party claims arising out of your use of the Service. The provider's total liability is limited to the fees you paid in the preceding twelve months.
THE EXCLUSIONS DON'T CARE WHICH ROLE YOU ARE
The hopeful reading — "we only use a vendor tool, so the exposure isn't ours" — runs into both the courts and the new policy forms.
USER OR BUILDER, SAME CARVE-OUT
The standard exclusion language, effective January 1, 2026, does not distinguish between a company that built its own AI and one that simply uses a vendor's product. Both can be excluded.
YOU OWN THE OUTPUT
Decisions to date have placed responsibility on the business that deployed or relied on the AI — not the model's maker. Using someone else's tool did not transfer the liability.
COVER FOR YOUR ROLE
Affirmative coverage is structured to your actual position in the chain — developer, modifier, deployer, or user — instead of leaving the question to a form that excludes AI regardless.
WHERE EACH ROLE GETS EXPOSED
Map which roles your business actually plays. Most established companies are users and deployers at once — and a growing number quietly became modifiers the day they fine-tuned a model.
AS A USER
Every output your team relies on — emails, code, analysis, customer answers — carries error, IP, and disclosure exposure, even on an unmodified vendor tool.
AS A DEPLOYER
Embedding AI in a product or customer-facing service makes you responsible for how it behaves in your customers' hands.
AS A MODIFIER
Fine-tuning on your own data ties the model's behavior — and any sensitive data it absorbed — directly back to your choices.
AS AN AUTONOMOUS OPERATOR
If your deployment also acts on its own, the role exposure compounds with autonomy — the highest-severity combination in this market.
⚡ AGENTIC = INSTANT YESBUILT FOR ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES AT EVERY LINK
This affirmative market is designed for companies at scale — whether you build, fine-tune, deploy, or simply run your business on AI. We structure the submission to your actual role.
PART OF THE GENERATIVE AI INSURANCE STACK
Developer-versus-deployer positioning runs through every trigger. Explore how it connects to the rest of the cluster.
DEVELOPER vs DEPLOYER QUESTIONS
WE JUST USE A VENDOR'S AI. ARE WE REALLY LIABLE?
WHAT IS "SUBSTANTIAL MODIFICATION" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
DOESN'T OUR VENDOR'S CONTRACT PROTECT US?
WE FINE-TUNE A MODEL ON OUR OWN DATA. WHAT CHANGES?
IS THERE A MINIMUM COMPANY SIZE FOR THIS COVERAGE?
HOW DO I GET A QUOTE FROM KELLY INSURANCE GROUP?
FIND RELATED COVERAGE FAST
LOADING LIVE SITEMAP...