Companies like IMA offer protection through cyber security insurance, which is designed to prevent losses from data breaches, business interruptions and network damage unlike standard insurance policies, which were designed for actual risks.
Records Breached
864.2m Records Breached
47 % Hacking or Malware 26 % Portable Device 20 % Unintended Disclosure 4 % Inside 1 % Station Device 1 % Payment Card Fraud 1 % unknown passwords or bank information.
“ Most of these are more smash-and-grab crimes,” Burke said.“ Businesses aren’ t a target. These crimes are more of a matter of opportunity.” While data breaches often result in unanticipated and costly expenses, there’ s often a higher toll.
“ It’ s a reputational risk,” he said.“ When it spreads by word-of-mouth of having a breach, chances are,( your clients) don’ t do business with you anymore. It’ s difficult to quantify, but if it’ s on the front page, it does not bode well for sustaining a business. And more than likely, they will use a different agent moving forward.” www. privacyrights. org as of April 18, 2014
Policies help cover the expenses most often needed when a breach occurs, he said, including legal counsel, forensic exams, public relations and assistance notifying customers affected by the breach.
Coverage also helps with other expenses, including defense costs from lawsuits, losses resulting from business interruptions and regulatory fines and penalties.
As companies consider firewalls and added security measures to keep confidential data safe, employees are surprisingly the biggest sources of breaches, he said.
“ Implementing proper controls such as encryption and data backup, and instilling awareness across the organization can help,” he said.“… Maybe an employee clicks on a link, allowing someone access to the network. It could be malware that steals data. That’ s the type we’ re seeing.”
To mitigate risks, Burke said IMA offers clients gap-analysis and cyber-risk loss modeling as well as tools such as a cyber loss control website that includes the latest information in best practices and industry news.
Still, he admits there’ s a long way to go, noting only 20-25 percent of clients have coverage.
“ If you buy coverage, we are militant,” he said.“ The last thing we want is a breach; we never want to even have to broach the topic.”
KAIA has partnered with Arlington / Roe & Co. to offer members an exclusive program to help protect their agencies from information security breaches. The coverage is designed specifically for insurance agencies and is only avaiable to KAIA members. Premiums start at $ 583 for $ 500,000 limit of liability and up to 25,000 records. Call AScK today to find out more about cyber protection for your agency and your clients.
Employees can fall victim to a number of cyber threats, including malware, software intended to damage or disable a computer or computer system; social engineering, which uses deception to manipulate the computer user into disclosing confidential information that can then be used for fraudulent purposes; and phishing, the practice of sending emails claiming to be from a reputable company in order to coax someone into revealing
Tim Burke Director of Cyber Risk, IMA
18 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | January- February 2017 |