Cyber Insurance 101 - A Primer
Cyber insurance is a bit of a catch all and covers cybercrime such as social engineering, ransomware (extortion), electronic compromise, breaches, phishing schemes and the like. It is without a doubt the single biggest claim area for insurance, and in the first half of 2021 we have seen more cyber claims then in the past 5 years combined.
Given that 80% of cyber attacks start on email, it really has become a lead defining factor of if you require Cyber Insurance; If you use email corporately are personally, then you should have coverage in place.
Beyond the insurance itself one of the major advantages of cyber insurance is the support, education and response teams available to us in event of a breach because without that resource, who do you call? police? your lawyer? With a policy in place the pros will be there to support you and more importantly take over management of the claim.
It really is not an issue of if you have a claim, but when and to leave yourself exposed here should not be an option, it’s just sound risk management.
While there is an exposure for any data you may maintain for your clients, it really goes well beyond that. As an employer we are all susceptible, given the nature of the extremely personal data we have for our staff. Think bank accounts, SIN, personal contact information etc.
Insurers typically are in agreement that, like any type of insurance, there are exposures where coverage is not attainable on a broad scale.
Losses caused by cyber wars – and widespread outages of electricity and telecommunications – insurers report that the following three categories of widespread critical infrastructure outages are generally uninsurable:
• satellite communications
• the Internet; and
• the electrical grid.
In regards to ‘cyber war’ exclusions, this is a work in progress in an extremely fluid coverage sector. Insurers are still using modified property insurance related war clauses but are working to draft wordings on exactly what a cyber war ‘event’ would look like. As is the case with everything cyber related – “stay tuned”.
There is a plethora of reading available on this subject of course and there is a 1min quick read here and a little more in depth reference data here if you are interested.
Questions? Reach out to one of our advisors, call us at 800.900.2009 or email us