Covering your business for cyber liabilities used to be a concern only for the highest-tech companies, but as times change, so should your policies. With universal business use of the Internet and states increasingly enforcing privacy and security breach notification laws, all employers should look at their policies to insure cyber liability coverage.
Many businesses do not realize how big their technological liabilities are until there is a problem. If a security breach occurs, it can cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars not only in damages and losses, but also to re-build the brand or business' reputation among customers.
Some experts in the industry estimate that about 90 percent of U.S. businesses have a large need for cyber coverage in their commercial liability policies. The number is high because security breaches extend far beyond the Internet – any company that stores sensitive customer information, whether over the internet or simply on a laptop computer, could be in danger.
Besides adding on to and tweaking existing policies, businesses that want to protect themselves from cyber liability can take other steps. Obviously, carefully following all security laws and regulations is a great start. Also consider putting company policies in place that further protect sensitive information and that could ensure employees are aware of the dangers as well. These would include:
- Internet security policies
- Company e-mail policies
- Policies on employee conduct with personal customer information
- Computer security policies to protect other private data, including internal personnel information
Think of cyber liability coverage as an evolution of traditional liability insurance policies. It is not just for e-businesses anymore, and it has progressed into a risk for almost every company no matter how large or what kind of business it does. Cyber liability can be complicated, so contact me with questions or concerns.
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