Cyber Protection Insurance for Your Business

What is Cyber Protection Insurance?

A fairly new kind of cover, cyber protection insurance is necessitated by the rise in data breaches and incidents of computer hacking. It protects your business from the devastating financial consequences of these crimes.

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Does My Business Need Cyber Insurance?

In our computer-reliant world, any business that has a website and holds computer records is a target for an attack. If your company suffers a breach, you stand to lose money and intellectual property. If the attack compromises customers’ records, you can lose your customers’ trust, as well as your business’s reputation.

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Are Digital Attacks a Serious Problem?

In 2016, Malcolm Turnbull called the reach and scale of cybersecurity attacks against public and private organisations unprecedented.

Cyber threats are of significant concern to all Australians, so much so that the Senate passed the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016. This requires all persons who are aware of security or data breaches to notify the Office of the Australian Commissioner within 30 days, as well as individuals who may have their personal information unlawfully disclosed.

These statistics also underline the impact of cybercrimes:

  • 22% of small or medium-sized companies who experienced a data breach had to shut down their businesses right away
  • Small businesses experience 58% of all data breaches
  • In 2018, there were 177,519 cyber scams reported. A total of $107,032,111 was lost in 9.9% of these attacks.
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What Will a Policy Cover?

Insurance policies differ in the areas and amounts of cover they provide. You should always consult with your insurance broker to find out the specifics of your policy. Here is a general idea of what a cyber protection policy will typically cover.

Type of Cover
Potential Benefits
Losses Caused by Interruption of Business
Covers revenue lost because of a cyber attack
Cyber Extortion
Losses sustained hiring experts or paying attackers’ demands to prevent future cyber attacks
Replacing Electronic Data
Pays the cost of recovering data lost in a breach
Privacy and Security Liability
Covers reputation damages that result from a data breach involving third-party data held in your system
Defence Costs
Pays the amount necessary to mount a legal defence as a result of a cybercrime
Electronic Media Liability
Covers the cost of defamation claims, misuse of intellectual property, and copyright infringement
Regulatory Breach Liability
Pays the cost of charges coming from a government regulator’s investigation

Expenses Considered 'Extra'

Type of Cover
Potential Benefits
Monitoring and Notification Charges
The cost of routinely overseeing a customer’s online information and making the customer aware of potential breaches
Crisis Management
Pays for the charges incurred because of a cybercrime

What Costs Are Not Usually Covered by Cyber Insurance?

The following expenses are typically not covered by cybercrime insurance. However, check with your insurance broker at Connect Business Insurance for the details specific to your policy.

  • Thieves who use the internet to steal your money
  • Illegal acts committed by you or your business
  • Computer hardware damages
  • Cyberattacks based on information you knew

Case Study

A staff member opens an email infected with a ransomware virus. The virus immediately halts your access to your data and your computer systems. The ransomware tells access denied until you pay a specific amount of ransom.

Perpetrators of cybercrime will count on businesses agreeing to pay so they can resume operations. This affects your bottom line. Additionally, when customers hear of the breach, they often lose trust in your business. Some customers will file lawsuits against the company which suffered the attack, especially if a work stoppage cost a customer a large amount of money.

A Cyber Protection Insurance Policy can help you recover lost revenue, pay for the costs of data recovery and security updates, legal fees, and crisis management.

Cyber Protection Insurance does more than give you peace of mind; it can save your business if you are the victim of a cyberattack.