Cyber Liability Insurance For Small Businesses

Many businesses keep electronic records of clients, customers, and employees. It’s a standard practice of any business that uses technology. When a business engages in various actives such as selling on the Internet or collecting data within an internal electronic network, it has the potential to be infiltrated.

In today’s environment data breaches happen every day. Your business needs to be prepared for the costs that are associated with a data breach.

Dealing with a data breach can be costly. The amount of time and money that goes into cleaning up a breach can add up. You can face penalties or fines as most states regulate personal information data. This is to help reduce identity theft or other crimes that would need this personal data.

Your business will also be responsible for providing credit monitoring and notifications to inform everyone on the data network that there has been a breach. The costs add up when legal fees and damages are involved so it is important to have a plan to protect personal information data from breaches.

What Is Cyber Liability Insurance?

Cyber liability is an insurance policy that can help protect your business from data and other electronic information liabilities. To better understand if your business needs cyber liability, here are some common coverages that can be included:

Data Breach

Expenses related to the management of an incident, the investigation, the remediation, data subject notification, call management, credit checking for data subjects, legal costs, court attendance, and regulatory fines.

Multimedia/Media Liability

Third-party damages covered can include specific defacement of website and intellectual property rights infringement.

Extortion Liability Coverage

Typically losses due to a threat of extortion or professional fees related to dealing with extortion.

Network Security Liability

Third-party damages as a result of denial of access, costs related to data on third-party suppliers, and costs related to the theft of data on third party systems.

Businesses are different because people are different, therefore it is key to understand the cyber risks your business faces to ensure your cyber policy is tailored to mirror those risks.

Who Needs Cyber Liability Insurance?

Cyber Liability is for any type of business. It is often confused with technology errors and omissions. Tech E&O is intended for businesses that are providers of technology products such as computer software and hardware manufacturers, website designers, and firms that store corporate data on an off-site basis. Although similar, it may miss some of the insuring agreements as a cyber and privacy policy would.

If you have a network server that holds personal information of your clients and customers, you should look into cyber liability insurance. Quotes are easy to get and an insurance agent can help you understand the coverages and how to protect your business.