A Buyers Guide to Cyber Insurance
Tue, 29 Oct 2013 15:46:42 -0700
No business is safe from privacy breaches and cyber attacks, and hackers grow more sophisticated each day. The demand for cyber insurance has grown as a result.
Insurers offer both first- and third-party insurance for cyber losses. First-party coverage insures for losses to the policyholder's own data or lost income or for other harm to the policyholder's business resulting from a data breach or cyber attack. Third-party coverage insures for the liability of the policyholder to third parties — including clients and governmental entities — arising from a data breach or cyber attack.
The types of first-party coverage available include:
Theft and fraud. Covers destruction or loss of the policyholder's data as the result of a criminal or fraudulent cyber event, including theft and transfer of funds.Forensic investigation. Covers the legal, technical or forensic services necessary to assess whether a cyber attack has occurred, to assess the impact of the attack and to stop an attack.Business interruption. Covers lost income and related costs where a policyholder is unable to conduct business due to a cyber event or data loss.Extortion. Provides coverage for the costs associated with the investigation of threats to commit cyber attacks against the policyholder's systems and for payments to extortionists who threaten to obtain and disclose sensitive information.Computer data loss and restoration. Covers physical damage to, or loss of use of, computer-related assets, including the costs of retrieving and restoring data, hardware, software or other information destroyed or damaged as the result of a cyber attack.Available third-party coverages include:
Litigation and regulatory. Covers the costs associated with civil lawsuits, judgments, settlements or penalties resulting from a cyber event.Regulatory response. Covers the legal, technical or forensic services necessary to assist the policyholder in responding to governmental inquiries relating to a cyber attack, and provides coverage for fines, penalties, investigations or other regulatory actions.Notification costs. Covers the costs to notify customers, employees or other victims affected by a cyber event, including notice required by law.Crisis management. Covers crisis management and public relations expenses incurred to educate customers concerning a cyber event and the policyholder's response, including the cost of advertising for this purpose.Credit monitoring. Covers the costs of credit monitoring, fraud monitoring or other related services to customers or employees affected by a cyber event.Media liability. Provides coverage for media liability, including coverage for copyright, trademark or service mark infringement resulting from online publication by the insured.Privacy liability. Provides coverage for liability to employees or customers for a breach of privacy.Small and midsize businesses are ideal candidates for cyber insurance, because they may be less prepared for a data breach and less able to absorb the costs associated with a breach. Larger companies, with more substantial risk management and legal departments, are better equipped technically and financially for a data breach, which could make insurance a less effective risk management tool.
Main underwriters of Cyber Insurance are AIG & ACE, and ABIS Group represents both carriers in the US and Mexico. For more information, please contact us at contact@abis-group.com or (800) 554-2247.
