From the Winter 2014 Issue

CYBER INSURANCE

Gordon M. Mumpower, Jr., CPCU, MBA
President | Commercial Insurance Managers Inc.

Security systems are installed to prevent hackers from unauthorized access into computer networks. Hacking is prevalent by individuals who are employed within or outside companies, groups from around the world, teenage amateurs, sophisticated techies, and your spouse late at night. You purchase the best technology from the smartest and innovative vendors to protect your company and clients from data breach, unauthorized access, theft of digital assets, human error, cyber extortion and malicious digital infection protection. What am I talking about! You have everything you need except what the hacker is doing tomorrow. What else do you need?

Cybersecurity Liability coverage is marketed by several insurers which recognized that even the best digital system is still vulnerable. You need not only protection for your clients but also protection from destruction of your digital systems and loss of income while the hacker’s damage is being repaired. Cyber Extortion is also a threat. A US Based information technology company contracted with an overseas software vendor. The vendor left universal “administrator” defaults installed on the server and a hacker was paid $20,000 to exploit the vulnerability. The hacker threatened to post the record of millions of registered users on a blog. The extortion expenses exceeded $2,000,000.

Cyber coverage can combine third party and first party coverages worldwide. Direct loss and legal liability with consequential loss from Cybersecurity breaches are covered. Third party coverage includes lawsuits arising from intellectual property, trademark and copyright infringement. Disclosure, content reputational, conduit and impaired-access injury are also covered. First party cyber crime expense is optionally covered protecting you from privacy notification expenses, crisis management and reward expenses, e-business interruption, e-theft and e-communication loss, e-threat and e-vandalism expense.

Some of the cyber policies are comprehensive and worldwide. The cost might pleasantly surprise you.

Leave a Comment