Tag Archive for: cyber attack

cyber liability insurance protects your business in case of a cyber attack

your guide to cyber insurance: why do you need it?

The cyber insurance industry is a rapidly growing market that can be difficult to navigate for those seeking or renewing insurance. With underwriting and renewal processes taking longer to complete, read on our full guide on why you need cyber insurance.

why should you invest in cyber insurance?

Cyber insurance covers expenses from data breaches, viruses, or other cyber-attacks and fraud. It can also cover legal claims that come from a security breach. As companies utilize cloud software, personal computers and laptops, and other technology-based means to store their sensitive data, their risk for a security breach grows exponentially.

The Identity Theft Resource Center claims that in 2018, businesses experienced 571 breaches in security, which exposed 415 million employee and customer records.

In 2021, a cyber-attack incident occurred every 11 seconds.

If your company experiences a breach, federal law requires you to perform an extensive list of tasks. If you have cyber insurance coverage, however, your carrier will take on that responsibility.

Investing in cyber insurance helps protect your business from financial losses that can come with a cyber attack, and help keep reputation damage at bay.

is your business vulnerable to cyber-attacks?

As many businesses moved to a work-from-home model, cyber-attacks have increased. With most company communication through e-mail, Slack, and other online platforms, the risk of a breach increases. This could cause a company to experience massive monetary losses as well as reputation damage.

who needs cyber liability insurance?

While some general liability and professional liability policies include some basic cyber liability coverage, some additional coverage may be needed. Businesses that store personally identifiable information (PII) for both employees and customers should have additional coverage.

Cyber breaches can occur in a multitude of ways. They can be executed through phishing emails, viruses, ransomware, or other malicious attempts to corrupt your data. The best way to begin protecting your data is to establish internal safeguards with cyber security. This includes using strong passwords and monitoring electronic device access and access to software tools.

This form of coverage is growing in demand as we shift towards a cyber-reliant world. The National Associate of Insurance Commissioners found that the U.S. cyber insurance market “expanded to $4.1 billion in direct premium in 2020, representing an increase of over 29% from 2019.”

what does cyber liability insurance cover?

There are a few types of coverage within a cyber liability policy. First-party and third-party coverage help ensure you’re protected for whatever comes your way.

first-party coverage

First-party coverage includes coverage for immediate expenses related to the cyber breach. These expenses typically include:

  • The cost of notifying employees and the public
  • Marketing and public relations response that protect the company’s reputation
  • Extortion money
  • Repairing the damage to software and hardware
  • The cost of business interruption and missed income while operations are suspended
  • Other ancillary costs

third party coverage

On the other hand, third-party coverage helps a company defend against lawsuits and legal claims. There are a few lawsuits that may occur. Privacy lawsuits are covered under this coverage in case you have breached the privacy of customers and employees.

Regulatory body fines are covered as well as media liability claims (copyright infringement, libel, or slander). Lastly, breach of contract and negligence claims are covered under third-party coverage.

what does cyber liability insurance not cover?

It’s important to understand what your insurance coverage does not cover. When you review your cyber security protections, you may be able to identify where your vulnerabilities lie. Some common exclusions from cyber liability insurance include:

  • Bodily injury and property damage claims: Any claims of bodily injury or property damage will not be included in your cyber liability insurance policy. However, a general liability policy will cover these claims.
  • Criminal activity: Cyber liability insurance policies do not cover fraud, robbery, employee theft, and other crimes. However commercial crime insurance will cover these claims.
  • Social engineering: A cyber liability insurance policy will not cover when employees are tricked into transferring company funds. This can be an additional add-on with some cyber liability plans.
  • Loss of property: When an employee loses a piece of property, like a phone or computer, cyber liability will not cover the cost. However, a commercial property insurance policy will.

Like many businesses, you likely utilize computers, and other electronic devices to send, receive, and store electronic data. Data is one of your most valuable assets. It’s important to ensure that you protect that data and consider the cost of losing it.

signs you’re at risk of experiencing a cyber-attack

Cyber-attacks occur without forewarning. Sometimes, businesses don’t initially realize that they’re under a cyber attack. Review the following signs that your business is experiencing a cyber attack.

  • You’re receiving requests for transactions, like direct deposits or electronic fund transfers.
  • Unsolicited communications are coming through from unknown companies or people.
  • Links within emails do not match—check links by rolling your cursor over the link to see if the two match with the content and the email address!
  • Requests with a high sense of urgency, asking you to complete documentation immediately.
  • Requests for usernames, passwords, and other personal details like banking information.

If you realize you’re under a cyber attack, act immediately. First, disconnect your device from the internet, restore your system, and report the attack to your IT department.

After the attack, make sure you file a report with the police and your insurance.

how to mitigate risk

There are ways to decrease your business’s risk of falling prey to a cyber-attack. Being proactive about cybersecurity, and having cyber insurance helps keep your business information secure. Other ways to mitigate risk include:

  • Limit your use of large email attachments and programs that put pressure on your company’s bandwidth ecosystems.
  • Do not forward emails with attachments that contain highly restricted or company confidential information to personal accounts.
  • Avoid reading, talking about, or leaving confidential information in unsecured work-from-home areas.
  • Log off of work devices when you’re not using them.
  • Shred sensitive documents.
  • Restart your computer regularly.
  • Be aware of third-party risk because 59% of companies experience a cyber breach because of a third party.

cyber claim tips

When submitting a claim, use our tips to make sure you have the most successful outcome.

  1. Prepare and understand your insurance policy beforehand. Before a breach occurs, understand and review your policy, and what it covers. Make sure the structure of the claim fits your business needs.
  2. File your claim correctly. Most cyber insurance claims are first-party claims because the most common types of cyber-attacks are ransomware, malware, and social engineering fraud. However, file a third-party claim if you experience the need for defense in a lawsuit. Once assigned, insurer claim adjusters quickly help mitigate losses and help the legal and forensic response.
  3. Do not wait to report your claim. Once you become aware that there is a breach in your cyber security, the first step is to report and file the claim as soon as possible. No matter what type of breach, do not wait to file a report because it’s easier to give assistance early on during a breach.
  4. Obtain insurer consent. Once the claim is filed, the insurer must give their consent to onboard attorneys, IT professionals, and investigators for the breach.

At benchmark commercial insurance, we offer global capacities with a boutique experience. What we do best is look at your company holistically and use our knowledge of changing policy to give you the security of knowing you’re covered.  It’s true, anyone can get you cheap insurance, but not anyone can be there for you like we can when structuring your policy and filing a cyber security claim.

Curious about what other areas of your company may be putting you at risk for a cyber security breach? Read our article about why email may be your biggest cyber risk here.

 

your business needs cyber liability insurance to protect against cyber attacks

what does cyber insurance actually cover?

what does cyber insurance actually cover?

Cyber cyber cyber… This is one of the hottest topics in the insurance industry today. You may already have cyber insurance, or you might be considering getting coverage — in either case, you’ll likely be asking,  “what does your cyber insurance actually cover?” 

who needs cyber insurance? 

While some general liability and professional liability policies include basic cyber liability coverage, additional coverage is often needed. Businesses that store personally identifiable information (PII) for employees and/or customers should have additional coverage.

what does cyber insurance protect you from?

Cyber breaches can occur in a multitude of ways. They can be executed through phishing emails, viruses, ransomware, or other malicious attempts to corrupt your data. 

In 2019, The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that the losses for business email scams were $1.7 billion. Learn why an email might be your biggest email risk on our blog. 

The best way to begin protecting your data is to establish internal safeguards with cyber security. This includes strong passwords, monitoring electronic device access, and using different software tools. 

Email scams such as Business Email Compromise/Email Account Compromise (BEC/EAC), are sophisticated scams that target both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. In addition to those email-based vulnerabilities, there is an increase in other cybercrimes that threaten businesses (especially those that are remotely operated). According to Cybersecurity Ventures, a cyber attack will occur every 11 seconds in 2022, nearly twice the rate in 2019.  With that being said, it’s important to ensure your business is covered in case a cyber attack does occur, with cyber security liability coverage. 

There are a few types of coverage within a cyber liability policy. First-party coverage and third-party coverage help ensure you’re covered for whatever comes your way.

what else does cyber insurance cover?

First-party coverage includes coverage for immediate expenses related to the cyber breach. These expenses typically include:

  • The cost of notifying employees and the public
  • Marketing and public relations response that protect the company’s reputation
  • Paying extortion money
  • Repairing the damage to software and hardware
  • The cost of business interruption and missed income while operations are suspended
  • Other ancillary costs

Third-party coverage helps a company defend against lawsuits and legal claims. There are a number of lawsuits that can occur. Privacy lawsuits are covered under this coverage in case you have breached the privacy of customers and employees.

Regulatory body fines are covered, as well as media liability claims (copyright infringement, libel, or slander). Lastly, breach of contract and negligence claims are covered with third-party coverage. 

Going into 2022, there is likely going to be a change in coverage. Read our blog cyber security: looking forward to 2022 for more insights. 

cyber insurance for a remote workplace

A recent global industry study conducted by Tenable found that “eighty percent of security and business leaders said their organizations have more exposure risk today as a result of remote work.” 

They listed three main factors that have increased cyber attacks in the 2-year wave of remote office that are important to understand as a business owner moving forward with cyber coverage.

  1. “Enabling a workforce without boundaries.
  2. Expanding the software supply chain
  3. Migrating to the cloud.” 

These three factors are all present in remote workplaces, and give even more reason to understand what your cyber coverage actually covers. 

One question we’ve received from clients is: What happens if a remote employee breaks their work computer while at home? In general, cyber insurance will not cover a broken laptop — but commercial property insurance might. 

okay now my business is covered — now what?

If you have enrolled for cyber coverage, good for you! You’re taking one more step to help create a safe workplace for your employees. Even if your business is protected against cyberattacks, there are some steps you can take to further protect your business. 

read the fine print

It’s important to fully understand what your business is covered for when it comes to cyber risk. At benchmark, we take the time to look into the meaning of a ‘network’ for your company’s policy. The policy might change or be limited to “software, hardware, devices, and other infrastructure owned, operated, or leased by the company.” Knowing what your network entails, how far-reaching it is, and what security protocols you have in place can affect the type, limitations, and cost of your cyber coverage. 

set home-office expectations

In addition to understanding your policy’s details, understanding what your employees’ home offices are like is important to help prevent cyber attacks. A couple of ways to ensure that your remote employees have a safe environment to work is: 

  • Bring in an IT professional to evaluate the laptops and monitors being used or to help install a VPN.
  • Set boundaries with employees about workspace (for example, only use your work laptop, not the family computer that multiple people are using).
  • Provide cyber security training about red flags to avoid.

There are preventive steps you can take to improve your security protocols and reduce the cost of your cyber liability coverage.  To find out more about how we can add cyber to your existing business-coverage, please reach out. 

Cyber Security: Looking Forward to 2022

cyber security: looking forward to 2022

In July 2020, we all saw the ramifications of a well-performed hack. Twitter experienced the most catastrophic security breach in their company’s history. Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, and other high-profile Twitter users were all among the hacked users.

This hack caused Twitter to shut down all verified blue-checked accounts. In just a few short hours, this breach of security cost Twitter users more than $118,000 and the company even more in their reputation.

This was more than three months ago. So, what does this mean looking to the new year? 

With most business and social interactions moving toward technology-centered avenues, this can be troubling for business owners. Some questions to keep in mind moving forward:

  • What will your company do if this happens to you? 
  • Did the global pandemic and stay-at-home orders make you more vulnerable to potential cyber-attacks? 
  • How can you protect yourself and your company? 
  • What cyber security regulations are being put in place for 2022? 

Let’s explore.

Consider Investing in Cyber Insurance 

Cyber insurance covers the expense incurred due to a data breach, virus, or other cyber-attacks and fraud. It can also cover legal claims that come from a security breach. As companies utilize cloud software, personal computers and laptops, and other technology-based means to store their sensitive data, their risk for a security breach grows exponentially.

The Identity Theft Resource Center claims that in 2018 businesses experienced 571 breaches in security, which exposed 415 million employee and customer records. 

When you do experience a breach as a company, federal law requires you to perform an extensive list of to-dos. If you have cyber insurance coverage, however, your carrier will take that responsibility on.

2022 Changes

The United Nations (UN) provides information about their role in upcoming cyber attacks. One of the main adjustments for the future is the role that automated systems play in cars. Your Tesla could be a risk moving forward (the report highlights passenger cars, vans, trucks, and buses).

The higher risk associated with “connected” cars is another reason cyber security is crucial moving into 2022.

How Has Your Business Become More Vulnerable?

As businesses moved to a new work-from-home model, cyberattacks increased. With most company communication done through e-mail, Slack, and other online platforms, the risk of a breach increases. This could cause a company to experience massive monetary loss as well as reputation damage. 

Signs You’re at Risk of a Experiencing a Cyber Attack

  • You’re receiving requests for transactions, like direct deposits or electronic fund transfers
  • Unsolicited communications are coming through from unknown companies or people
  • Links within the email do not match—check links by rolling your cursor over the link to see if the two match with the content and the email address!
  • Requests with a high sense of urgency, asking you to complete documentation immediately
  • Requests for usernames, passwords, and other personal details like banking information

What Can You Do to Help Mitigate This Risk?

  • Limit your use of large email attachments and programs that put pressure on your company’s bandwidth ecosystems
  • Do not forward emails with attachments that contain highly restricted or company confidential information to personal accounts
  • Avoid reading, talking about, or leaving confidential information in unsecured work-from-home areas
  • Log-off of work devices when you’re not using them
  • Shred sensitive documents
  • Restart your computer regularly

These tips along with the added security of cyber insurance should prepare your business for potential cybersecurity breaches. Learn more about how cyber insurance can help your company today. Contact us at Benchmark to see how we can partner.

And if you’re wondering why your insurance premiums have skyrocketed recently, learn why here.

 

Cyber Security Coverage in the Age of Ransomware

cyber liability

benchmark umbrella insurance coverage

how much should I pay to insure my business?

With insurance costs rising, you may be looking at your insurance costs wondering how much you should really be paying in insurance. This largely depends on your industry and the risks associated with your particular business, however, there are some standards that help give you a rough estimate!

Typically business owners spend between 1-3% of their revenue on insurance coverage. A lower-risk business might be closer to the 1% range, whereas a higher-risk business would be around 3%.  The highest-risk businesses can invest as much as 5% of their annual revenue in insurance coverage to offset the possibility of catastrophic losses.

The risk factors that contribute to higher insurance costs include: 

Your Industry

Each industry has an inherent level of risk associated with it. These different levels of risk play a large role in defining your costs. The details of how you run your business can also affect your business insurance costs. If you’re a restaurant allowing your customers to cook their own food (think Korean BBQ), you may have more risk than a typical restaurant owner.

Your Expertise

Insurance carriers view business owners with more experience as being in a lower-risk category. Typically you’ll be asked how many years you’ve been in business, what level of education you have, and what your employee’s qualifications are. More highly educated workforces are likely to be assumed to be lower-risk to an actuary at a carrier. 

Your Revenue

Growing your business can cause your insurance costs to grow. Higher revenue leads to more customers, more square footage, and more employees, which, in turn, increases your risk. In addition to the workers’ compensation costs that would of course increase, operational complexity adds to risk, the more hands, the greater the risk of someone getting hurt or something going wrong.  

Your Business Location

Where you work plays a large role in your insurance premiums. The more square footage you have, the physical condition of your building, and the physical location of your business (flood zones, high crime rate, fault lines, etc.) lead to higher costs and an assessment of being a higher-risk company. 

One recent factor that has been raising the costs to insure businesses is changing fire zones. If your business is located in a high-risk fire area, then your insurance is going to be more expensive.  As climate change increases the areas considered high-risk fire zones, many businesses that did not have this increased rate adjustment are seeing their costs rise.  This is true for any external impact (flood zones, high crime rate, fault lines), with the higher risk there will be higher costs for your business. 

Your Employees

The number of employees you have may lead to higher insurance premiums. With more employees, you may need to invest in various different types of insurance, like Workers Compensation, Errors and Omissions, and General Liability. Your insurance premiums can also depend on the positions of your employees. Qualified ALEs will necessarily have different requirements, risks, and costs than Small Business Owners. 

Your Chosen Policy

The more policies you add, the higher your premiums. The nature of your business may determine which policies you need to invest in, other times it can be up to you. AS you assess what coverage you need be aware of what a catastrophic loss would do to your business, your personal finances, and your company’s ability to operate.  Cyber coverage was often overlooked before the recent wave of ransomware attacks, now, business owners are actively looking at their data vulnerabilities. 

Your Prior Claims history

Lastly, your claims history has a large impact on your insurance premiums. If your company has a long history of filing claims for loss or damage, insurance companies will charge higher premiums to cover the risk of insuring your business. If you are looking for ways to reduce your premiums, there are risk-reducing operational steps you can put in place. 

Has your insurance increased this year? Learn why with Benchmark’s Rob Cohen.  READ MORE HERE