Small businesses are not immune to cybercrime. Cyber insurance policies can protect you financially in the event of an attack.

The risk of hacked emails, identity theft, phishing and ransomware isn’t limited to big corporations. Small businesses are targets too, yet they have far fewer resources to recover from a cyber attack. To reduce the financial risks associated with a cyber attack some business owners are purchasing cyber insurance.

What is cyber insurance?

Cyber insurance doesn’t prevent attacks from happening. Instead it offers your business financial protection if you experience an attack by hackers. Benefits of a policy kick in when a third party files a claim against you.

The FTC says you want a policy that will cover:

• Claims and settlement expenses relating to disputes or lawsuits
• Losses related to defamation and copyright or trademark infringement
• Costs for litigation and responding to regulatory inquiries
• Other settlements, damages and judgments
• Accounting costs

Look for a policy with a “duty to defend” in case of a lawsuit or regulatory investigation.

Events covered by cyber insurance

Policies vary among insurers and the FTC recommends that your policy covers the following:

• Data breaches (for example, theft of personal information)
• Cyber attacks on your data held by vendors and other third parties
• Cyber attacks that breach your network
• Cyber attacks that occur anywhere in the world (not only in the United States)
• Terrorist acts

Arm yourself with knowledge

If you’re new to cybersecurity the FTC Cybersecurity Quizzes page is great place to get up to speed. They start with the basics and then cover specific areas to help arm you and your team with knowledge. The Phishing Quiz can be used to help awareness for  everyone in your organization. Others, like the Tech Support Scam Quiz and Vendor Security Quiz are directed to folks with specific roles.

 

All loans subject to approval. Rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change and may vary based on credit worthiness, qualifications, and collateral conditions. Federally insured by NCUA