October 24, 2019
What is the Standard for Cyber Insurance?
Cyber insurance is a quickly-evolving product that is still fairly new. No standards exist, but here’s a list of coverages to consider when purchasing a policy:
Data liability. This covers damages and defense costs resulting from any claim against the insured from a data breach that compromises personal information. It should also cover claims alleging that information has been lost or compromised as a result of unauthorized access to, or use of, the insured’s computer systems. It is important that the policy covers not only an individual’s personal information but also employee data and confidential corporate information. Many organizations possess third-party trade secrets, customer lists, marketing plans and other information that could be beneficial to competitors and may result in liability if compromised.
Media liability. This insures damages and defense costs resulting from any claim against the insured for infringement of copyright and other intellectual property rights, as well as misappropriation or theft of ideas or media content. While coverage may not extend to content published in a personal capacity, this should ideally be included, as organizations may face significant liabilities as a result of employees using Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
Regulatory coverage
This covers the costs of response to any administrative, government or regulatory investigation following a data breach or cyber attack, as well as any fines or penalties imposed. However, this coverage is typically limited to civil fines and penalties, as criminal fines and penalties are not insurable in many jurisdictions. Some regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), prohibit regulated firms from recovering from insurers any fines or penalties the regulators impose.
Remediation coverage
Most policies provide coverage for additional costs associated with a data breach, including the costs incurred to notify those affected and relevant authorities, provide credit monitoring for those affected and set up call centers to field inquiries from concerned clients. Coverage may also extend to the costs of forensic services to determine the cause and scope of a breach, as well as public relations expenses and other crisis management costs.
Information assets coverage
The policy may include coverage for costs of recreating, restoring or repairing the company’s own data and computer systems. This may also extend to third-party data that has not been captured by back-up systems or that has been corrupted or lost because of negligence or technical failure.
Network interruption coverage
The policy may cover lost revenue from network interruptions or disruptions because of a denial of service attack, malicious code or other security threats.
Extortion coverage
Many policies insure the costs of responding to ransom or extortion demands to prevent a threatened cyber attack.
Specialized cyber insurance is no longer optional for SMBs as they are the fastest growing target for cyber criminals.
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