Like it or not, there is an army of would-be hackers just waiting to prey on you. The data you have stored about your customers as well as your employees is a highly prized commodity for the tech-savvy criminal element. Cyber liability insurance is your best protection against this calamity.
Don’t lull yourself into complacency with the belief that your standard property and business coverage will come to the rescue if your systems are compromised by a hacker, a disgruntled employee or even a malicious virus. If you promise that your customers’ data will remain secure in your possession and one of these disasters happens, you could be held financially accountable. The last thing you need is a protracted and expensive court battle over the cost of damages. If credit card data is breached, you may even be required to pick up the tab for forensic investigations, the cost to reissue the cards and whatever expenses were fraudulently run up on the plastic.
What Cyber Liability Insurance Covers
The grim possibilities described above are nothing less than a business owner’s worst nightmare. Fortunately, cyber liability insurance covers most, if not all of these costs as well as any regulatory penalties you incur. It also protects you against copyright infringement, leaked data and defamatory information that you or one of your employees may have disseminated on social media sites. Better still, this coverage can compensate you for what it will cost to hire a public relations firm that will help you to salvage the all-important reputation of your brand.
If your business has less than 250 employees, you are even more likely to be the target of a cyber attack. The threat can be especially dangerous when it comes to your tablets, laptops and other mobile devices. Cyber liability coverage can safeguard all of these pieces of equipment, which by their portable nature, are more susceptible to loss or theft. When you set about to compare insurance quotes for this type of coverage, make sure that it includes all of your mobile devices.
It is important that you talk to your insurance broker or agent about integrating cyber liability coverage into your already-existing liability and business policy. You simply cannot afford to wait until a breach occurs or you are the victim of a hacker. The small increase you will experience in your premium could pay for itself a thousand fold should the worst happen.