The basic fact about cybersecurity is that there is no such thing.
In reality, there exists an ongoing arms race between cyber attackers and defenders and there is never any assured victory on either side.
The history of cybersecurity goes back thousands of years to a time when kings, states, and their armies used complex codes and ciphers to send and receive messages without being intercepted by an enemy.
In those times, an encrypted message was only as secure as the strength of its armed defenders and the complexity of the code itself relative to the intelligence and determination of potential "hackers."
In today's cybersecurity world, the case is very much the same, only it is rendered by modern technology.
This is why updates to your computer operating system are so important.
Regular updates allow a software company to apply patches that cover the latest threats and vulnerabilities of a piece of software.
But even this is no guarantee that a hacker will not be able to access your data.
In reality, successful attacks happen every day. Banks are successfully attacked, and businesses of all kinds fall prey to hackers, as do private individuals.
All of this remains true even in the face of the best cybersecurity applications, tools, and practices.
When a person is only responsible for his own data security, this kind of risk may be acceptable.
But when you own a business that handles the payment information of customers they are at risk as well.
That means you could be held liable for successful attacks despite all of your best efforts.
This liability risk that merchants who do business online face is the primary rationale for cybersecurity insurance.
It is not the only reason to buy cyber insurance coverage, but it is increasingly seen as a necessary tool to do business, and it is even a regulatory necessity for some industries and business models.
Forbes.com reports that 34% of executives polled by the Deloitte Center for Controllership reported that their organizations had been targeted by hackers during the previous fiscal year.
Of that group,12% reported that their organizations had been hit by multiple attacks.
More disturbing is the fact that nearly 50% of executives said that their organizations had suffered successful attacks aimed at their financial data.
These executives almost unanimously stated that they expect these attacks to increase in number, intensity, and power.
Despite this, just over 20% of these same executives claimed that their finance teams work closely with cybersecurity experts.
This means nearly half of companies that handle the payment information of their customers and clients are not taking cyber liability seriously.
If this is the case, imagine how few are leveraging the increasingly necessary protection of cyber insurance coverage.
Unfortunately, surveys like these offer an incomplete view of the state of cybersecurity in business.
Chances are that the real risks to businesses are much greater than the available evidence.
This, coupled with the irreducibly tenuous reality of data security, is yet a further rationale for cyber insurance coverage.
Taking all of this into consideration, we establish the necessity of cyber insurance. But cyber insurance coverage is not merely a necessary protection, it also offers a number of proven benefits which make it well worth the investment.
Our team of cyber insurance coverage experts has identified the five following benefits of this type of protection.
These are not the only benefits of cyber insurance you can enjoy, but they are the most important, significant, reliable, and measurable benefits of this type of protection.
While some of the benefits of this type of coverage may or may not manifest, the following benefits are guaranteed and all other benefits are their products.
Cyber insurance coverage offers financial coverage for the losses you may sustain as the result of a successful cyber attack. More importantly, when the financial data of your clients and customers is breached, and you are held liable, cyber insurance coverage can help cover your losses.
The two components of cyber insurance coverage are First-party cyber insurance and Third-party cyber liability insurance.
Their coverage breaks down as follows:
TPCLI provides a company with fiscal indemnity from damages resulting from attacks on the data of your clients and customers while interacting with your organization.
Cyber liability insurance can protect policyholders from most of these.
Any effort to guard against or prevent cyber-attacks is essentially a cyber risk management plan.
This is because cyber attacks cannot be prevented 100% of the time.
This is why cyber liability insurance is a key item in your cyber security toolset.
Cyber liability insurance gives you several protections, including all of those listed under benefit #1.
But perhaps the most important benefit is the peace of mind that your clients, customers, and partners will enjoy.
Among the biggest risks for any organization that handles the sensitive payment information of others is regulatory compliance.
Violations often result by accident after laws change or after protections become ineffective for technical reasons.
This is why protection from regulatory fines and fees is a key benefit of cyber liability insurance.
Examples of high-profile cyber liability fines include, as described by CSOonline.com, include:
The people who count on you to protect their valuable, sensitive, payment data will take great comfort knowing that you are the holder of a comprehensive cyber insurance policy.
More importantly, your reputation will remain intact after the inevitable successful cyber attack does come your way.
In today's online environment, this type of protection is an indispensable part of reputation management.
Your clients customers, and partners are not the only ones who will sleep easier at night knowing that any data breaches will not destroy your ability to do business.
This peace of mind is invaluable.
It means the difference between being able to focus on mission-critical tasks and constantly worrying about the very real potential of a disastrously expensive attack.
Cyber liability insurance will save you precious vital energy, energy you need to manage, run, and grow your business.
According to Advisorsmith.com, the average cost of cyber security liability insurance per year is $1,485 in the United States.
The Insureoen company offers a similar appraisal of the cost at an average of $145 a month for an annual total of $1,740 per year.
These averages are not exorbitantly expensive, and the costs can be lower, depending on your needs and priorities.
When you factor in the resulting return on investment (ROI) that comes through peace of mind, reputation management, and regulatory cost savings, the value of a comprehensive cyber liability insurance policy is likely to improve your earnings in the final analysis.
When leveraged properly, your cyber liability coverage will be a significant boost for your overall company profile.
It will make you more attractive to investors and customers alike.
Over the longer term, it can mean better stock prices and endurance in this changing business climate.
Working with a reputable cyber insurance liability insurance provider makes applying for coverage easy.
You will enjoy comfort in knowing that qualified experts will oversee your information security needs.
These experts will explain the techniques and technologies used to secure your data.
Most importantly, you will obtain a clear view of policies, processes, and coverage amounts which will be put in place to cover your data vulnerabilities.
The most important step to applying for cyber liability insurance is to be honest and upfront about your cybersecurity infrastructure so that the relevant experts can help you craft a policy that will work for your unique business profile.
Because it is next to impossible to predict the timing and nature of the next successful cyber attack against your data and that of your customers, taking action now is critical.
Working with qualified cyber liability experts makes developing a strong liability plan a straightforward process.
Because cyber liability insurance is a relatively new type of coverage, and a necessary one, adopting the new standard of protection can put you ahead of the competition in your industry.
Leveraging the ability to survive a successful cyber attack now means you can survive in a climate where your competitors cannot, leaving you to serve more accounts with greater security.
Get in touch today to learn more, and get the most out of this valuable protection when it counts most.
Our team of experienced advisors is standing by to answer all of your cyber liability insurance questions.
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