Very few businesses these days get by through word of mouth or paper advertising – most will have a website or be cited in various online sites (such as general advertising-listing sites or comparison sites). Many businesses also carry out much of their work online, creating and sending often sensitive data via email.
Whilst it is advantageous to use technology so effectively, there are risks associated with conducting work over the web. This is where cyber liability insurance comes into its own.
What Is Covered By Cyber Liability Insurance
What is covered by cyber liability insurance will depend on the policy you purchase, which in turn will depend on the nature and extent of your business. Even small businesses might need cyber liability insurance if they deal with sensitive or secure information. Depending on what you do, you might need a policy to pay out in the event of copyright infringement, loss of data (which necessitates significant time to replace or which belonged to a client and cannot be replaced so must be compensated for), or if internet access is lost for some reason that means that your business cannot operate for a period of time.
Virus attacks on your work and computer can also be covered. The best thing to do is try to avoid these in the first place by following basic advice like not opening unknown attachments and purchasing good-quality virus protection software. But if the worst happens and your computer (and perhaps network if you have several computers) is infected and your work (and equipment) is lost or third parties have their equipment or work infected and sue, then having cyber liability insurance in place will spare you some hassle, cost and heartache. Cyber liability insurance can pay out for third party losses and lost revenue due to time without the internet.
Consider purchasing cyber liability insurance if you conduct business over the web or use your computer to run your business.
That this insurance is available is news to me, thanks. Internet access is the lifeblood of many businesses, so it only makes sense to insure against loss of access and related hazards.
I couldn’t imagine myself ever paying for this kind of insurance. While my business is exclusively online work, I am confident that I can take the necessary precautions to avoid this kind of stuff. I think this kind of insurance is likely much more beneficial for the people who are not savvy enough to know how to avoid that kind of stuff.
This is the second time I’ve heard about this in a week! One of my freelance employers is a large national media corporation, and I do sensitive research and data analysis for them – they’ve actually mentioned I should incorporate or get insurance like this to protect myself and their data. Interesting!
I never heard of this insurance either. Man you are like a blogging informant. Glad to have you around to find the goods.
A very informative article. You are right in saying that the best thing to do is to practice safe computing. An insurance should not in a any way make you overconfident with your system.
Interesting idea. Probably needed given how open the Internet is, and how exposed so many online businesses are to lawsuits.