At last, a product suitable for cyber risks

I have been writing for some time about the risks to all businesses from new emerging threats surrounding the storage and use of data and the increased reliance on technology to run our businesses. One of the problems has been that there have been very few suitable insurance products to address this area. Until now.

I have long advocated insuring your computer hardware under a separate, specialist computer policy to take advantage of the widest possible cover and, more crucially, some cover for the actual data that is being held. This tends to be where the majority of costs are incurred. Most businesses employ standard, off the shelf hardware which is not only readily available, but also costing less to replace every year. However, the value of the data held on these devices becomes greater with every year and the costs of potentially having to re-create this after a loss due to physical loss or corruption can be substantial. This is not covered under a standard insurance policy.

The risks associated with potentially losing the data stored, possible sensitive in nature and belonging to your customers are growing daily. This information is gold dust to hackers and small businesses are very often protected by a lower level of security than bigger companies with dedicated IT departments. You dont have to be hacked either - what happens if a laptop with customer information is stolen or lost on a train for example?

In addition, most businesses now utilise internet banking, and whilst this is hugely convenient, it does raise the risk of hackers gaining access to your bank accounts and transferring funds fraudulently to their own accounts.

All of these risks can now potentially be covered by a new Cyber Insurance offering from HSB - one of the UK's leading specialist computer insurers. Brining together the cover for the hardware, data, crime and hacking risks into one package makes absolute sense, and this stand alone policy can sit comfortably alongside your existing insurances.

I shall be speaking to all my clients regarding this 21st century upgrade to your cover in the coming year but if you want further information earlier, contact me today.

Claims examples:

Ex-employee hacked computer system. Data restoration and recreation required. Claim: £21,956.

Property management firm’s email system became corrupted. IT investigation needed to confirm a virus was the cause. Former customers sued for damages after being infected by email.  Claim: £31,261.

Accountant’s laptop stolen containing 800 customer tax records. Cost to replace laptop, notify clients and investigate loss.  Claim: £35,000.