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The coronavirus outbreak has had a huge impact on workplaces. Many companies are encouraging their employees to work from home. But this move creates a major risk- cybersecurity.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, cyber-attacks cost the U.S economy and small businesses about $2.7 billion in 2018 alone. Cybercriminals tend to target small businesses because they don’t have cutting-edge security infrastructures like big companies.

Experts warn that these attacks could get worse now that most employees are working from home. And even giant companies and big organizations are not spared. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a two-fold increase in cyber-attacks amid the spread of the coronavirus.

Unfortunately, most companies are not giving cybersecurity the attention it deserves right now. Everyone is prioritizing continued operations and safety. And elite cybercriminals know it’s the perfect time to launch attacks. If you’re wondering why, read on.

Widened Attack Surfaces

When one employee connects to their company network from home, they create potential access points for cybercriminals to exploit. So if you have many employees who do this many times a day, it can be an uphill task to ensure every connection is secure.

The attack surface is widened even more if employees use their own devices for work. Each device introduced new operating systems and platforms that need their dedicated support. And when numerous devices are used, the chances of hackers breaking into some of them increase significantly.

Lack Of Authentication And Verification

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most effective defenses against cyber-attacks. And now that employees are not seeing each other, businesses that don’t have monitoring access points and two-factor authentication are more exposed to cyber-attacks than companies that use them.

Increased Phishing And Malware

Employees expect a lot of emails and online requests while working from home. And hackers are more likely to also take advantage of the fact that most people want new information about coronavirus. They might send your employees offers related to the virus or urgent instructions to get them to download malware and access company systems.

Now that you know how cyber-attacks might be unleashed, let’s look at what you and your employees can do to stay safe.

What Employees Can Do To Prevent Cyber Attacks

  • Be Extra Careful About Phishing Emails: Enable multifactor authentication on every account you control to prevent hackers from accessing them. And if you have any doubts about the validity of an email from the company, don’t hesitate to ask before taking any requested action.
  • Observe Good Cyber Practices: Ensure the anti-virus protection on all your devices (computers, laptops, smartphones, and internal router) are up to date. Use secure connections and avoid using Bluetooth in public places.
  • Use Secure WiFi: Only access your corporate network using secure and password-protected WiFi. Also, avoid accessing sensitive information from public WiFi. And if you must use one, please verify from the owner that their WiFi is legit and password-secured.

What Employers Can Do To Prevent Cyber Attacks

  • Set Up Remote Access On Time: Before an office closure, assign remote access to your employees. It can be extremely difficult to install the technology and issue multifactor authenticator codes to employees they’re not physically present.
  • Remind Your Employees To Use Company-Issued Laptops: As mentioned earlier, using personal computers to connect to corporate networks create problems and increases the risk of getting hacked. Therefore, remind your employees to avoid using them while working from home.
  • Create Emergency Contact Line: Make sure you create an “out of band” contact that you can use to reach your employees. That way, if you fall victim, you can communicate with your employees.

As government agencies, organizations and businesses encourage their employees to work from home to prevent coronavirus from spreading, cyber-security teams are more likely to face security challenges. The best way to combat this challenge is to prepare your employees and your infrastructure.  For more information, please contact Insure Your Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As of March 10, 2020, the CDC says Coronavirus risk is still considered low in the United States, but a significant spread of the disease is likely, even expected. Savvy business owners are concerned about their business and profit over the next few weeks, and questions arise about their insurance coverage for these unusual types of losses.

Insureyourcompany.com is here to help. We’ve put together a blog explaining the CDC’s current expectations as they relate to businesses and special events. Then we’ll talk about the coverages you might have in place to safeguard your earnings. As always, you’re welcome to reach out to us at 888-242-4675 if you have questions beyond the scope of this article and need to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

The CDC Expects Widespread Transmission of Coronavirus in the US

Per the CDC, the widespread transmission of Coronavirus will probably lead to large numbers of people needing medical care all at once. Whether voluntary or government-regulated, quarantines will almost certainly reduce consumer activity.

  • Restaurants, retailers, and other B2C businesses will likely experience a dramatic drop in foot traffic.
  • Mass gatherings, like festivals or sports events or may be sparsely attended or postponed.
  • Hospitals, doctors’ offices and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths.
  • Other business and banking functions will slow, as employees stay home sick or experience localized quarantine.

The CDC notes that other critical infrastructure, like law enforcement, emergency medical services, and the transportation industry may also be significantly affected.

This leads us to the ultimate question of the day: Does Your Commercial Insurance Policy Cover Losses From Coronavirus and Quarantines?

Understanding Basic Loss of Use Coverage

Some commercial policies (not all) provide loss of use coverage, but it may be on a named peril basis. In other words, if your business was to burn down, and it takes a year to rebuild after the fire, you’d likely be covered for loss of use. In that case, your insurance company would pay you for the income you’re losing that year and in many cases it would pay your employees usual wages too.

But is an epidemic or pandemic covered?

Business Interruption & Contingent Business Interruption Coverage

According to this Insurance Journal article “Standard property insurance policies usually include two types of valuable coverage for disruptions like the Coronavirus. Business interruption coverage insures against losses resulting when… operations are directly affected; and contingent business interruption coverage insures against the risk of indirect losses, [like when] suppliers or customers are affected.”

  • In other words, you might be covered for these types of losses even if there is no physical damage to covered property like in the fire example we used above.
  • In theory, business interruption coverage is triggered when the property suffers a direct physical loss or damage.
  • Structural damage to the property may not be a requirement for coverage.
  • Proof that contamination – or a similar condition like bacteria, gases, or fumes – rendered an insured property unusable or uninhabitable could be reason enough to file a claim.

Civil Authority Coverage

Some BOPs provide civil authority coverage. It covers losses that occur if authorities restrict access to the area where a business is located, or that the business depends on for its operations. In other words, if your business suffers due to a quarantine, you may be eligible for reimbursement of some or all of your losses.

Looting & Malicious Mischief Coverage

Most commercial insurance policies include malicious mischief coverage. This coverage is meant to cover situations of civil unrest, like rioting, arson and vandalism. Looting is probably covered (though political terrorism or nuclear war are not).

If you have other questions about your business owners policy and your coverages as they relate to Coronavirus, contact us today!

We’d love to help you understand your commercial insurance policy, or provide you with a free quote.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs often talk about how they want to start businesses to employ themselves, take long vacations, and spend more time with family and friends.

But all these rewards come at the very end- after hard work, sacrifices, dedication and thousands of hours.

The reality is that building a successful business today is no easy feat. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), although about 80% of SMEs live to celebrate their first anniversary:

  • Approximately 33% fail within 2 years
  • 50% fail within 5 years, and
  • 66% fail within a decade

Sobering, right?

But it doesn’t have to be you. There are several ways to start and grow a business, and here are seven proven tips to help you succeed.

1. Plan

Planning is crucial for the success of any business. When a business has a clear plan, managers and employees are well equipped to face the future.

A solid business plan creates the focus for your business and unites all stakeholders toward common goals. And when that happens, you can easily manage the time and resources needed to grow your company.

2. Get Organized

Even if you have a well-drafted business plan, you will not get far if you’re not organized. Entrepreneurs who are organized tend to complete tasks and stay on top of things.

A great way to make sure you remain organized is to set a to-do list every day. As you accomplish every task, check it off. This ensures you don’t leave anything that is essential to the success of your business.

3. Keep Records

Seasoned entrepreneurs know the value of keeping detailed records. By doing so, you will always know the position of your business and the challenges you’re likely to face.

Knowing this crucial information in advance gives you enough time to develop solid strategies to overcome those hurdles.

4. Study Your Competition

Business today is highly competitive. The secret to becoming a leader in your space is to innovate faster than anyone else. And the best way to do that is by studying your competition and innovative winners in other industries.

Knowing your competition also helps you:

  • Understand your strengths and weaknesses
  • Learn your specific markets and put more efforts to keep them
  • Learn something new from them to implement in your business

5. Be Ready To Make Sacrifices

Starting a business takes courage and hard work, but once you open doors, real work begins. As the owner, you have to up in more time than anyone else, which means spending less time with your family and friends. But that’s not all.

As an entrepreneur, you may also find yourself sacrificing:

  • Stability
  • Income
  • Work/life balance
  • Comfort
  • Sleep

6. Understand The Risks Involved

Running a business comes with risks. Some risks can destroy your business entirely while others can result in costly and time-consuming repairs.

The ability to identify risks is an important component of strategic planning. Businesses that are well-prepared tend to minimize impacts on revenue, lost time and productivity through insurance.

So if you want to focus on building your business without worrying about certain risks, borrow a leaf from successful companies by also insuring your business.

7. Be Consistent

Consistency is the secret to keeping your customers happy and making money in any business venture. So keep doing what you must do to grow your business every day. This will create a great relationship with customers and long term habits that will help you build your business and your brand in the long run.

Whatever type of venture you’ve invested in or you want to start, using these seven strategies can help you succeed. At Insure Your Company, we’re happy to see you grow. We help businesses secure the right coverage and documentation. Contact us on 888-242-4675 to speak with one of our industry experts.

New services, apps, and devices are released every week. How do you decide which ones are worth purchasing? A good place to start is to identify tools that actually make your everyday life easier. When you’re more organized and productive, everything else falls into place. Let’s look at some of the top technology tools that will maximize your focus and productivity.

Todoist

To-do list apps are the digital equivalent of jotting down such lists in a notebook or on post-its. It’s quite useful to have your schedule organized in an app. Simply creating such a list helps you organize your thoughts and plan the day. Todoist is one of the simplest apps of this type. You can create single or recurring tasks, such as a weekly meeting. Todoist is equally useful for organizing your personal and professional life. The free version is fine for creating lists. The Premium version, which is only $3/month, gives you added functions such as templates, automatic backups, and email or phone reminders.

Join.me

Organizing meetings can be a complicated and time-consuming process. You need to contact everyone on your invitation list and find a time that’s mutually convenient. If you’re conducting virtual meetings with people scattered in different locations, it’s even more challenging. Join.me makes it simple to create virtual meetings. Unlike many such tools, you don’t have to worry about everyone using the same operating system or software. Anyone can access the meeting from their web browser. With Join.me, you can easily set up meetings far in advance or spontaneously by sending out invites with the push of a button.

Dragon Anywhere

There are various tools that let you turn dictation into text. None, however, can match the suite of Dragon products. Many people find that it’s much easier and faster to speak than to write. You can use this tool for blog posts, emails, articles, or creative writing (e.g. short stories, novels). There are various Dragon apps, including software specialized versions for fields such as education, law enforcement, and legal. However, one of the most useful versions is Dragon Anywhere, the mobile phone app, available for both Android and iOS. You can simply dictate anywhere right into your smartphone.

Evernote

Evernote is famous for being a note-taking app but it’s actually quite a bit more than this. Evernote lets you sync files across platforms and devices. It ensures you never lose anything and makes it easy to share files with team members or clients. Evernote has a free as well as Premium and Business versions. The free version is good for simple note-taking. The paid plans give you more options such as clipping, saving, and sharing images, receipts, PDF files, and other items. The Business version even provides AI-powered suggestions based on the notes you’ve already taken.

IFTTT

IFTTT stands for If This, Then That. It’s an extremely versatile app that lets you automate many tasks from your phone. IFTTT is probably the simplest and most user-friendly tool made for the IoT (Internet of Things) age. Best of all, you can perform fairly complicated tasks without having to do any coding. You simply create what are called Applets, programs that help you perform all kinds of functions. This includes controlling smart home systems (e.g. lighting, heat, alarm), setting up reminders with Google Assistant, syncing Alexa with other devices, and countless other tasks. New Applets are constantly created for IFTTT so there’s no limit to what you can do with this app.

Audible

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook service has a vast library of recorded books and other materials that you can listen to anywhere. While there are many other audiobook services, none compare with Audible in the sheer volume of offerings. While you can use Audible for entertainment and consume your favorite mysteries, thrillers and other novels, it can also help you stay informed and educated. You can download numerous books in fields such as self-development, business, history, fitness, and other topics that help with personal growth. With the phone app, you can listen while commuting, exercising, or waiting on line.

These are some tools that can help you get more organized, focused, and productive in all areas of your life. Each of these apps is highly customizable to your needs. Automating simple tasks such as creating lists, organizing meetings, and taking notes help you save time and get more accomplished.

InsureYourCompany.com provides customized insurance solutions for businesses. To learn more about our services and policies, contact us.

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