Not long ago, businesses in New Brunswick gave little thought to the Internet as identity theft was almost nonexistent. However, modern technology has brought us many conveniences but also a lot of fallout. For example, when you expand your business to accept eCommerce, you can have customers all over Canada and the world. This is a great way to increase your profits and the Internet is one of the best places to advertise these days. Yet, information has become the new gold of the 21st Century and this has attracted a new kind of thief, the cyber criminal, and without cyber insurance, you could be facing a true financial nightmare. Cyber thieves are waiting to hack into your databases and here is an example of the importance of getting the right insurance.
Gerry worked in the auto repair business for a lot of years and when he first started out in the early 80s the Internet was not around and inventory and customer records were taken care of manually. They didn’t think about computers, cell phones, or cyber liability insurance, and this way of running a business worked well and was very efficient. However, Gerry now was owner of a garage and he knew that he needed to enter the 21st Century, when his business expanded.
Gerry took his son Sam into the business and let him handle the computer system and data entry. In fact, Sam was skilled at Web design and before long they had a professional looking website and business was very good. However, one day, Sam was locked out of the computer system and his password would not work. Someone went online and hacked into the system, stealing credit card and bank information from hundreds of customers.
Sam knew a great deal about computers, so he talked his father into taking out cyber risk insurance just a few weeks before the incident. This was a good thing, because the damages the hacker caused were in six figures and the business could not have come close to covering all the expenses and legal costs without insurance.
Defining Cyber Insurance
If you use a computer in your business (and who doesn’t these days?) you have a number of risks whenever you access the Internet. You might think that antivirus or firewall protection is all you need, but you could be wrong. Just like commercial property insurance protects your property, cyber coverage is designed to protect your sensitive information from thieves. Although it cannot stop your security from being compromised, it pays to get your business back on its feet if this were to occur.
Who Should Have Cyber Liability Insurance?
If your computers need to access the World Wide Web, you are vulnerable to a security breach at any time. Plus, your business website could be attacked and someone could access your customers’ personal information. In addition, data is stored in easy to carry formats which can be on your employee’s laptops or flash drives and these things can easily be lost or stolen. Health care services are particularly vulnerable because they must protect patient medical information as well as financial information.
Are There Standard Cyber Risk Insurance Policies?
If you take out a cyber risk policy it should cover security breach management services, such as:
- Crisis management
- Legal costs and court fees
- Remediation services
- Criminal investigation services
- Credit check fees
- Credit fraud monitoring services for customers affected
- Notifying everyone affected by your security breach
Your policy may also cover:
- Media or 3rd party liability – if your data breach resulted in damages to other web services or websites (shared hosting services)
- Restoring security
- Damage to computer hardware, software, and communications systems
Cyber Insurance Options for Your New Brunswick Business
Your insurance broker will show you coverage options to consider. For example:
- Extortion insurance – covers incidents in which hackers breach security and try to extort money to restore it.
- Employee theft – your data breach could be a result of your own people.
- Business interruption – pays for the downtime your business could endure when your security has been breached and pays for unexpected expenses.
- Professional indemnity insurance – in some cases, security breaches can also affect other businesses nearby and this coverage will take care of things not included in your 3rd party liability insurance.
Getting the Best Cyber Liability Insurance
Today, losses from Internet crimes have become one of the fastest growing business problems in Canada and all over the world. These crimes can be just as devastating to the small business as the large corporation and can seriously damage business reputations. This kind of coverage is no longer an option for the business seeking to protect all its financial interests and many businesses now consider cyber coverage as part of a business insurance package.
When you come to Vienneau Insurance your job is done and ours is just starting. As an independent insurance brokerage we take care of all the hassles of shopping for insurance and finding the best companies. We are not an insurance company but we are partnered with the largest companies in Canada and are in position to get you the best deals on your business insurance.
There are so many things that can happen to your company, it’s best to leave worrying about the “what if’s” to us and you can concentrate on running your business. Getting a free quote on your cyber risk insurance is so easy, you only need to tap or click.
