Technology is becoming increasingly important for businesses, organisations, and charities to successfully operate. The world is full of cyber dangers that target businesses of all sizes, in every industry. It is no longer a case of if but when you will be targeted.
With technology at the core of most successful business operations, a cyber insurance policy needs to be considered. A cyber attack can leave a lasting negative impact or in the worst of cases, lead to closure. Affects on finances, disrupted operations and a tarnished reputation are just some of the consequences dealt with in the aftermath.
Because of this, the need for cyber insurance coverage should now be a requirement for every business.
The key benefits of Cyber Insurance
A cyber insurance policy can incorporate a number of different covers. Each of these target the varying potential cyber threats a business could encounter. As well as the more obvious benefits of cyber insurance, other advantages can include:
Business Interruption Loss
This is important for if your organisation experiences IT failure or a cyber-attack that disrupts your business operations. A cyber insurance policy could cover you for the income lost during business interruption as well as other increased costs.
Privacy Breach Costs
You may suffer a cyber breach where the hacker accesses and/ or steals your personal data. You will need to secure the breach, notify the people affected and cover any privacy infringement claims. If you have cyber insurance in place, this should help cover any associated legal costs.
Cyber Extortion
In a report by SonicWall, the UK has been the biggest target for ransomware and other malicious cybercrime. These are attacks that attempt to seize control of (and withhold access to) your data until a fee is paid. Your policy could cover you if you suffer one of these attacks.
Digital Asset Replacement Expenses
In the event that your organisation’s digital assets are lost, corrupted or altered in any way by a cyber-criminal, your policy could help cover the costs involved with replacing them.
Media Liability
Your cyber insurance coverage could also step in for any media liability. This is in the event that a libel, slander, defamation or infringement of intellectual property rights claim is brought against your organisation as a result of your digital media presence.
Forensic Support
Forensic support can also fall under a cyber insurance cover. This will provide your organisation with near-immediate 24/7 support from cyber-specialists following a hack or data breach. Forensic support will help identify the weaknesses in your system and what exactly happened. This is key to helping a business recover and prevent a ‘cyber meltdown’ from happening again in future.
Reputational Damage
Reputational damage can leave a lasting impression on your customers and business. In this case, your cyber insurance policy could help fund a reputation recovery team. This will help provide positive exposure for your business after a cyber attack.
Social Engineering
Criminals use tricks to deceive and manipulate individuals. Not only into giving out confidential information but also into sending funds. This issue continues to develop in the ever-growing world we live in. However, cyber liability insurance or a separate crime insurance policy can help to protect you from suffering from these incidents.
Cyber Insurance Claim Examples:
1. A business with cyber insurance in place
A medium-sized law firm’s network was hacked. Sensitive client information could be at risk of exposure. This includes a public company’s acquisition target, another public company’s prospective patent technology, the draft prospectus of a venture capital client, and a number of class-action lists containing plaintiffs’ personally identifiable information. The firm then received a call requesting £25,000 to not sell the information on the black market. The law firm contacted their cyber insurance provider and an incident response manager was then assigned. IT forensic investigators and legal counsel were brought in to address the incident.
2. A business without the adequate cover in place
In another case we have seen, the General Manager of a local business was on holiday and had his emails hacked. The hacker sent an email to the General Manager’s assistant asking for an urgent payment for £10,000 to be made to one of their suppliers. The email detailed the account number and sort code needed. The assistant had no reason to believe that this wasn’t a genuine request and proceeded to make the payment to the hacker’s account. This business did not have a suitably robust cyber insurance policy with a crime extension. As a result, they were left with a £10,000 loss to cover themselves.
Get a Cyber Insurance Policy tailored to your needs
Looking for comprehensive cyber insurance coverage? Or perhaps the current cyber insurance you have for your organisation is not enough? Speak to Alan & Thomas insurance. As chartered insurance brokers, we specialise in a broad range of private client and commercial insurance.
We have seen first-hand the devastating impacts a cyber attack can have on uninsured businesses. Because of this, it is our top priority to ensure all our clients have a complete cover.
To find out more on the best cyber insurance policy rates we have available, contact us. You can speak to a member of our team on 01202 754900 or by emailing info@alan-thomas.co.uk. Don't leave things to chance, request a cyber insurance quote for your business today.