Cyber Liability: Are you protected?
More and more of our clients are becoming increasingly concerned with the risks they are exposed to by their reliance on IT to transact and operate their businesses.
For further information about our Insurance broking team please contact:
Tel: 215 549 9660
Email: rbartlett@bartlettgroup.com
Cyber Liability is now becoming a mainstream coverage for many businesses, placed alongside commercial property, general liability, workers compensation and auto insurance.
In the event of a loss caused by a fire, flood, hacker or disgruntled employee, traditional P & C insurance may indemnify you for damage to a data center or hardware but typically there is no coverage for the costs of lost revenue and restoring lost data.
Potentially of greater concern is the legal requirement that makes companies responsible for safeguarding personal and confidential data they collect as part of everyday e-commerce operations.
Businesses are now liable for the reasonable safeguarding and safe handling of customers' data including credit card numbers, financial transactions, medical history, credit information and other sensitive data. Mishandling data and failing to prevent unauthorized access can lead to penalties and suits for damages from third parties.
The CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey makes alarming reading. Amongst other issues, respondents reported big jumps in incidence of password 'sniffing', financial fraud and malware infection. One third of respondents' organizations were fraudulently represented as the sender of a phishing message. Twenty-five percent of respondents felt that over 60 percent of their financial losses were due to non-malicious actions by insiders. The average losses due to security incidents were reported at $234,244 per respondent.
Major carriers are now offering a number of different cyber liability coverages to protect businesses from both first and third party losses including but not limited to:
- Business Interruption
- Data Restoration
- Expenses to Notify Affected Third Parties of a data breach
- Forensic costs to determine how the breach occurred
- Defense costs, civil penalties and fines due to regulatory breaches
- Liability arising for failing to detect and prevent the transmission of a virus/worm
- Financial loss and liability arising from the actions of disgruntled/negligent employees, independent contractors or outsources
Bartlett Services:
- International Insurance Programs
- Risk Management
- Credit Insurance
- Technology Insurance
- Manufacturing & Distribution Insurance
- Life Sciences Insurance
- Investment Management Insurance
In the US the Bartlett office is based in Philadelphia.
Connect with us on LinkedIn
