How Useful Would Cyber Liability Insurance Be To Your business?
The world has gone digital and personal data is stored online in the billions, leaving it vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The theft of third-party data can be devastating to businesses and extremely expensive. For example, Sony was the victim of an enormous data breach in 2011, where 77 million pieces of personal information were exposed. PlayStation servers were down for more than 23 days and Sony ended up paying more than $170 million. Unfortunately, Sony didn’t have a cyber insurance policy, otherwise, some of this would have been covered.
Who is Cyber Insurance Designed For?
If your business stores, manages or creates electronic data including sales information, PII, user contact details, and credit card numbers, then cyber liability insurance is a perfect fit. Additionally, any eCommerce business should have cyber liability insurance to combat the costs related to downtime. Even if you only collect information through a website, you should have cyber insurance in place.
Cyber Attacks on The Rise
There was a 28% increase in cyber-attacks during 2022 Q3 when compared to the same period in 2021. Cybercriminals aren’t letting up anytime soon – and they are only becoming smarter with their tactics.
Defending your business against attackers is the only way to protect your stored data and your bottom line. You will need to have appropriate web and device security in place, but cyber liability insurance will protect you in the event of any unforeseen mishaps.
How Cyber Insurance Works
You can get cyber insurance through the same company your other business insurance policies are with, including public liability and key person insurance. The majority of cyber insurance policies cover first-party, which includes anything directly impacting the business. Additionally, you can find third-party cover, which protects you against losses that others face as a result of your infrastructure breach.
If any cyber event leads to your own business or a client facing downtime or data breaches, your cyber insurance policy will be there to cover any related costs including refunds, client credits, investigators, legal assistance, and other remediation costs.
How Much Does Cyber Liability Insurance Cost?
The cost of cyber insurance will depend on your chosen provider. However, you will be looking at paying between £10-£30 a month, depending on the extent of your coverage. If everything has been running smoothly so far, this may feel like an unnecessary monthly outgoing. However, if you think back to the Sony costs discussed in the introduction, you’d be paying cyber liability insurance at £30 a month for 472,222 years before you toppled over £170 million. When it’s written down like that, paying £30 a month is nothing in comparison to what you could end up paying out.
Conclusion
Any data stored digitally is at risk of theft or other loss, and such events can leave businesses at a standstill. To avoid being wiped out completely or losing mass revenue, a small payment of up to £30 a month for cyber liability insurance is enough to save your company.