Risk & Business Magazine Cain Insurance Risk & Business Magazine Summer | Page 25

CYBER LIABILITIES
The Unseen Danger Of Cyber Liabilities
WITH REECE CAIN, CAIN INSURANCE
D
oes a substantial portion of
your business operate utilizing
some form of technology?
Do you store customer and
business information on your
computers? How about your technicians
or employees? Do they use their phones
to help communicate important details
about work? Chances are, the answer to the
majority of these questions is a resounding
“yes.” That shouldn’t be too much of a
surprise, especially considering how quickly
new technologies are coming out which
are disrupting the status quo and making
things easier for businesses. Every one of
us has been there at some point, whether
it’s storing purchase orders in a database
or utilizing software-as-a-service (SAAS)
solutions to solve problems at work
Technology has made life easier in
innumerable ways. Unfortunately, nothing
easy comes without a price. When it comes
to technology, that price is a dramatically
increased liability pool. If you follow the
news, it would be hard to miss some of the
consequences of cyber-attacks and cyber
liabilities in general. It seems like every day
a company faces a huge breach, whether it’s
Target in 2013 (which affected 41 million
people and ended up costing the company
$18.5 million) or even Equifax in 2017.
Accor ding to a 2017 study sponsored by
IBM and conducted through the Ponemon
Institute, the average total cost of a data
breach in 2017 was $3.62 million. That is a
number which simply cannot be ignored.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel,
however. Cyber insurance coverage is
specifically designed to deal with data
breaches and cyber crimes from both a
regulatory and a civil liability standpoint.
Many business owners believe general
liability insurance can cover some of the
damage stemming from cyber incidents.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Cyber
insurance will mitigate liability which
involves sensitive customer information
and help deal with the consequences of it.
Here are a few example of what cyber
policies generally cover:
• Legal fees and expenses from civil or
governmental entities
• Notification of customers (many
regulations require the notification of
customers in the event of a data breach
which involves personal information)
• Repair/replacement of damaged
equipment and systems
• Data recovery from compromised
units
•
• Restoration of customer identities
• Business operations (to keep your
business running while things are
being fixed)
Public relations (data breaches are
often accompanied by a decreased
brand opinion)
Do you think your business is adequately
protected against cyber liabilities? Even if
you think it is, you could do with a thorough
review to make sure. Cyber-attacks are
becoming more and more prevalent,
increasing in frequency right along with
the technology that makes them possible.
Do yourself and your business a favor and
make sure you are covered. It’s important to
understand that insurance is just one piece
of a larger puzzle. Contact Cain Insurance
at 459-3000 or caininsurnace.com for your
free cyber review today and find out what
steps you can take to protect yourself moving
forward. +
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