Not every business shares the same exposures or risk when it comes to the necessary insurance protection required. Part of the struggle as your insurer or an insurance agent is to help a policyholder identify and recognize cyber exposures that may exist.
Some resistance lies in the defense of a strong company IT control process. We agree that may help to some extent, but it will not account for the exposure resulting from employees or the computers within your workplace. Consider these concerns, they happen more regularly than you may be aware:
Human Error
We all make mistakes, some have little or no impact but others can be devastating to the company.
Lost Portable Devices
If your employees take company phones, tablets or laptops home from work that contains information to accounts, access to the company computer server or more you may want to think twice about the risk exposure you have currently
Web Surfers
You may be surprised how many of your employees access the internet on your company devices during breaks, lunch or even during work time. There is no easier way to put your systems at harm than the internet.
If your business is at risk of any of these possibilities, then simply put, you require cyber insurance coverage.
Erie Mutual offers our commercial members coverage under their new or existing insurance policy by way of a Computer Attack and Network Security Liability endorsement. Just the name sounds confusing, so we can break this down to discuss a Computer Attack first, what is the Covered Cause of Loss and what is the Coverage Provided.
The Computer Attack coverage applies only if the following conditions are met:
- There has been a computer attack; and
- The computer attack is first discovered by you during the policy period for which this endorsement is applicable; and
- The computer attack is reported to us as soon as possible, but in no event, more than 60 days after the date it is first discovered.
If all above conditions have been met then we will provide coverage for these necessary and reasonable costs arising directly from the computer attack:
Data Restoration
Date Re-creation
System Restoration
Loss of Business includes actual business income loss and extra expenses
Public Relations if you suffer a covered business income loss we will pay for the services of a professional public relations firm to assist you in communicating your response to the computer attack to media, public and your customers, clients or members.
The second part of your endorsement is for Network Security Liability. Covered Cause of Loss and Coverage Provided for this section is outlined by the insurer as requiring that the following conditions be met:
- You first receive a notice of a network security liability suit during the policy period for which the endorsement is applicable (or any Extended Reporting Periods); and
- The network security liability suit is reported to us as soon as practicable, but in no event, more than 60 days after the date it is first received by you.
Having met these conditions, we will respond with coverage provided for both Defense and Settlement Costs which are necessary and reasonable.
The endorsement coverage does, of course, include more specifics with respect to limits, deductible, and exclusions. We recommend you speak with an Erie Mutual professional insurance advisor to discuss all aspects of your coverage and endorsements to better understand your commercial policy.
We cannot stress enough the importance of cyber protection for your business. It has become a necessity for an exposure that was never previously recognized only a few years ago. A true indicator that as the way we do business changes, so do our insurance needs.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
