Cyber liability insurance

Cyber liability insurance for your business: Takes the flak when you’re hacked

Business is booming for cybercriminals. Cyber-attacks are on the up and scammers are getting smarter.

One wrong click is all it takes. Next thing you know you’ve transferred thousands to fraudsters. Or your system’s been hijacked, your business held to ransom.

A cyber policy means you can click with confidence. Get hacked, breached, phished or defrauded, you’ll have a response team at the ready. And the cash to get you back online, doing business as usual. Fast.

• What is cyber liability insurance?

  Cyber liability insurance covers the damage cybercrime can do to your business. Whether it’s caused by a data breach, ransomware attack, invoice fraud, or phishing.

  The cost of recovering from an attack like that can be enough to cripple a small business.

  Cyber insurance takes care of these costs. Including paying your legal expenses, replacing lost income if the attack stops you trading, and covering public relations costs to protect your image.

  Here are some examples of how it works:

  • Ransomware attack: Your system’s been infected with malware and locked down till you pay a ransom. Cyber insurance covers any response costs and payments associated with ransom demands to get you back up and running.
  • Invoice fraud: Your business email’s been compromised. The hacker’s faking invoices and re-routing wire transfers. If you’re insured, you’re covered for any financial losses and costs to identify how you were compromised.
  • Data breach: Your data’s been lost or stolen. The first step is to identify how you were breached. Cyber insurance covers the costs for this, as well as any bills you have to pay for public relations.

  Cyber insurance can’t stop an attack on your business. But it gives you the tools and support — as well as the cash — to survive one.

• What does cyber insurance cover?

  Cyber insurance covers the costs of a cyber-attack, as well as the losses you might face. All with the aim of getting your business back to normal fast. It pays for IT forensics, ransom negotiations, business interruption, and public relations. It also covers some digital liability claims and the wider costs of cybercrime.

  Here’s a more in-depth list of what cyber insurance can cover:

  • Cyber-attacks: a variety of different kinds of digital attack that could target your business.
  • Cyber extortion: when cybercriminals hold your systems or data to ransom.
  • Social engineering: attacks that revolve around social manipulation, like fraud and phishing.
  • Business interruption: loss of income when a cyber-attack stops your ability to trade online.
  • Data recovery: when your data is damaged or lost because of a cyber-attack.
  • Data breaches: where a cybercriminal illegally accesses personal or commercial information.

• How much cyber insurance do I need?

  The short answer is: it depends. If you have a large and complex IT infrastructure, or loads of important hardware, you’ll need a higher level of cover to repair or replace it.

  You also need to think about how you do business. If your website goes down, can you still trade? What happens if you lose access to your emails? Or your online payment system is hacked? What would happen to you or your customers if you had sensitive data stolen?

  Costs can add up too. Speaking to regulators, informing your customers of a breach, paying compensation — all of these can add up to thousands of dollars.

  One thing’s for sure, though. A cyber-attack will always cost you money. It’s difficult to say exactly how much it will cost, so we advise going for the highest level of cover that you can afford.

• What does cyber insurance not cover?

  It’s important to know that different cyber insurance policies cover different things. Always read your policy wording to make sure that you’re covered for the risks you’re most likely to face.

  Below, you can see a list of some things that cyber insurance often doesn’t cover:

  • Data recovery costs because of hardware loss or damage.
  • Cyber events that happened before your policy began.
  • Lost revenue caused by damage to your business’s reputation.

  This list isn’t exhaustive. It’s a good idea to read your policy documents carefully so you’re aware of what you’re covered for and what you’re not.