Cyber Insurance Coverage
Cyber insurance offers several coverages to protect your small business from a wide variety of cyber-related threats and legal liabilities. Having a basic understanding of what's available can help you more accurately match your coverage to your particular situation.
What does cyber insurance cover?
Cyber insurance includes first-party and third-party coverages. First-party coverage offers protection if there's an attack on the data your business owns. This coverage often applies to costs for investigative and legal resources.
Third-party coverage offers defense and settlement costs if your customers or partners sue for damages that result from a cyber incident you're liable for.
First-party coverages
First-party coverage options might include protection for:
- Data breaches – Coverage if your business's critical information is stolen, like your customers' personal data, tax records and credit card information.
- Computer attacks – Protects if your computer systems are hacked, including software manipulation and viruses.
- Cyber extortion – Can cover ransom payments and professional aid during an extortion threat to your computer system, data or website.
- Business interruption – Can help replace lost income if your business operations are interrupted due to incidents such as a breach, extortion threat, or system failure.
- Data recovery – Covers costs and services to restore control of your data following a breach or other cyber incident.
- Identity recovery – Pays for costs and services to restore control of your identity following an identity theft incident.
Third-party coverages
Third-party coverage options might include protection for:
- Data compromise liability – Pays for legal and settlement costs if you're liable for a data breach or cyber attack.
- Network security and privacy liability – Covers defense and settlement costs if you fail to secure your systems and your clients or partners suffer damages as a result.
- Media liability – Protects against digital media claims of copyright infringement, defamation and violation of privacy. This can include content featured on your website or social media accounts.
This isn't an all-inclusive list. There might be other coverage options available depending on your insurance carrier. You can also customize a quote to only include the coverages you need.
How much coverage do you need?
The amount of cyber coverage you need depends on your exposure to cyber risks and contracts requiring certain coverage limits.
Typically, the higher your cyber risk, the more coverage you'll need. You might be considered high risk if you store records on an unsecured network or your electronic devices are vulnerable to theft. Additionally, certain franchises or partners might require that you carry higher coverage limits of $1 million or more.
Luckily, there are several coverage options for businesses of all sizes and risk levels. Smaller cyber risks can often add cyber coverage to a business owners policy (BOP).
If you're still unsure how much coverage you need, you can call us directly at 1-888-806-9598 to speak with a licensed cyber professional.
