Cyber protection insurance at a glance
What is cyber protection insurance?
Cyber protection insurance is a relatively new form of cover. It’s designed to help protect your business from the financial impact of computer hacking or a data breach.
If you see it, report it!
In February 2017, the Senate passed the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016 – setting up a mandatory nationwide data breach notification scheme. This means if you spot a security breach which may cause unauthorised access or disclosure of personal information, you’re legally required to report it to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner within 30 days. You’ll also need to notify the people whose information has been affected.
“The scale and reach of malicious cyber activity affecting Australian public and private sector organisations and individuals is unprecedented. The rate of compromise is increasing, and the methods used by malicious actors are rapidly evolving.”
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy Report, 2016
Who should consider it?
If your business has a website or electronic records, you’re vulnerable to cyber hackers. In fact, it’s likely that your business will suffer a cyber attack at some stage.
A cyber attack could cost your business more than money. It could also threaten your intellectual property and put customers’ personal information at risk – which could damage your reputation.
Did you know?
There were 177,519 scams reported in 2018 with 9.9% having a financial loss of $107,032,111.
(Scamwatch statistics, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 2018)
58% of victims of data breaches are categorized as small businesses.
(Summary Findings, Verizon 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, 2018)
Among small to medium sized businesses that have experienced a successful infiltration of the corporate network by ransomware, 22% reported that they had to cease business operations immediately (identical to the global average), and 18 percent lost revenue (higher than the global average).
(Second Annual State of Ransomware Report: Survey Results for Australia, Osterman Research, 2017)
What can it cover?
Cyber insurance policies vary in the benefits they provide. Your insurance broker can help you find the most suitable product that meets the needs of your business. To give you an idea, here’s the type of cover that your policy may include:
| Type of cover | Potential benefits |
|---|---|
| First party losses | |
| Business interruption losses | Covers financial loss you may suffer as a result of a cyber attack. |
| Cyber extortion | The costs of a cyber attack, such as hiring negotiation experts, covering extortion demands and prevention of future threats |
| Electronic data replacement | The costs of recovering or replacing your records and other business data. |
| Loss of deposits | Reimburses deposits on accommodation, flights or conferences if you or your staff member’s trip is cancelled due to accident or illness. |
| Third party losses | |
| Security and privacy liability | Damages to your reputation resulting from data breaches, such as loss of third party data held on your system. |
| Defence costs | Funds the legal costs of defending claims. |
| Regulatory breach liability | Covers legal expenses and the costs of fines arising from investigation by a government regulator. |
| Electronic media liability | The costs of copyright infringement, defamation claims and misuse of certain types of intellectual property online. |
| Extra expenses | |
| Crisis management expenses | Provides cover for the costs of managing a crisis caused by cyber hackers. |
| Notification and monitoring expenses | The costs of notifying customers of a security breach and monitoring their credit card details to prevent further attacks. |
What usually isn’t covered?
Exclusions and the excess you need to pay can vary greatly depending on your insurer.
Policies generally won’t include cover for:
- Damage to computer hardware.
- Criminal actions committed by you or your business.
- A cyber attack based on facts of which you were aware.
- Criminals using the internet to steal money from you.
There are other exclusions which your insurance broker can outline for you.