So you thought it was a great idea to have your whole office running on WiFi. Sure, your employees were handling some secure client information across channels that might have been a bit less than completely secure, but no worries… Or, are there? Imagine that a savvy hacker cruised by, hacked your wifi, and made off with client credit card info, employee social security numbers, or other such information. Now they are coming to you for answers as to why their info was breached.

Now’s the time to hope that you have purchased appropriate cyber liability coverage.

Cyber liability sounds like something big businesses would want, but in truth most small and mid-sized businesses can certainly benefit from it. Take the above example for instance. Here’s some reasons as to why maintaining adequate cyber liability coverage also makes sense.

Affordability

With premiums as affordable as two and three thousand dollars per year, policies can be quite affordable, especially given the potential costs associated with data breaches. Given the relative newness of this type of insurance coverage, there are many variations offering potential cost savings without sacrificing quality coverage.

Range of Coverage

Business interruptions, having to notify clients of the breach, and the cost of hiring public relations to help rebuild your image following a data breach are all expenses that you may face in the event of a cyber-attack. While large companies may have other lines of business that can cover an interruption, many smaller ones do not leave them with no income potential. That being said, having the funds to cover these as well as your normal expenditures will be a must. Such funds can also help to cover any penalties or fines you may face as well.

No Risk Management Team

Working with the right insurer can be almost as effective as having a risk management team. They can help point out areas of deficiency such as whether your company social media policy may be comprehensive enough or whether you are missing something as simple as a firewall.

Lack Of Plausible Deniability

Just because you may not store your own data, you are still considered the responsible party. Simply take a look at the various cloud storage contracts. You will quickly find that their language covers them in the event of a data breach, but lacks coverage for your business. Even though you can’t stop all potential cloud breaches, you are still at risk.

Regular Business Liability Provides No Coverage

Almost all general business liability policies are very specific in how they address losses that occur due to the Internet. More specifically, they typically state that they exclude such losses. This is where cyber liability comes in – it picks up the slack that your business insurance coverage leaves. One thing to note is that your cyber liability policy should include language covering any mobile devices and/or laptops that may be used by your business and its employees.

For more information on how cyber liability insurance can help protect your business, please feel free to contact us today.