Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
CybersecurityManagementSecurity Enterprise ServicesCybersecurity News

How to Shop for a Cyber Insurance Policy

By Anita Sathe
Cybersecurity Insurance
April 6, 2017

Running a business is full of challenges. Customers can delay payment for services rendered, equipment can break down at the worst possible moment, and entire product lines can be recalled. Thankfully, business insurance exists to help companies when they run into obstacles that affect their bottom line. By protecting company assets, staff and mitigating risk of lawsuits, business insurance is truly an invaluable resource for organizations of all sizes and industries.

Equally important – especially in today’s digital world – is cyber insurance. Malicious hackers are more skilled and resourceful than ever before, and they’re constantly targeting businesses with lax cybersecurity, as they’re easy to breach and usually rife with data that can be ransomed or sold on the black market. Any company that uses mobile technology, engages with external partners or vendors, accepts credit cards or other forms of online payment, or stores confidential customer, partner or other digital information should consider themselves vulnerable to a cybersecurity attack.

Just like business insurance, cyber insurance exists to provide essential financial padding when things go wrong. However selecting an appropriate cyber insurance policy can seem like a complex task. For instance, there are crucial differences between first-party and third-party cyber insurance. First-party coverage only covers immediate response costs associated with a data breach for losses to the policyholder, while third-party coverage covers policyholders from claims brought by third parties such as customers and clients.  

To select the most comprehensive yet affordable plan for your business, it’s critical to first identify who is accessing your confidential data and how they’re accessing it, as this information will largely dictate how your cyber insurance policy is outlined. Additionally, be sure your plan includes the following key components:

  • Business Loss: Small business professional liability insurance plans cover financial losses, and cyber insurance plans do too. Be sure to select a cyber insurance policy that will cover the financial losses to your business after a cyberattack has led to business interruption, data loss or customer dissatisfaction.
  • Privacy Liability: This essential component insures the loss of third party claims as a result of the policyholder’s unintentional failure to protect sensitive personal information and corporate information subject to a nondisclosure agreement, or adhere to privacy regulations. Seek out cyber insurance plans that offer privacy liability and the coverage of certain contractual liabilities that arise out of the failure to securely manage payment card data.  
  • Notification Contingency Plan: When a breach occurs, every potentially affected party needs to be informed and given safety instructions as soon as possible. Your data breach coach will work with you to contact all first and third parties affected by a network data breach for you so that you and your IT team can focus on isolating and removing the malware or infected code.
  • Forensic Investigation: Cyberattacks can be disastrous, and even more devastating is when they continue to occur over and over again. Look for cyber insurance policies that can indicate how, when and where a cybercriminal was able to infiltrate your system and infect, steal or delete company data so that you can proactively protect yourself against any similar attacks as well as know the extent of the attack/breach.
  • Data Breach Coverage: Breaches often result in customer data being leaked to the public or being used for nefarious purposes, wrecking the financial accounts and reputation of not only your brand but also your customers. Be sure your cyber insurance policy insures expenses associated with a data breach, including the cost to retain legal services to determine regulatory obligations, the cost to notify people whose sensitive personal information has been breached, and the cost to provide those people with up to a year of credit monitoring services.
  • Extortion Coverage: While it’s usually a worst case scenario, sometimes businesses find themselves with no options other than paying a ransom fee to get their stolen data back from cybercriminals. Choose a cyber insurance policy that will help cover the cost of potential extortion, just in case.

According to Symantec, one in 40 small businesses is at risk of being the victim of a cyber crime. Don’t leave your valuable business assets, staff and customers unprotected, and don’t risk falling victim to the debilitating effects of cybercrime. Implement a cyber insurance policy today to protect your network and enable the swift recovery of your data and finances in the event of breach.

KEYWORDS: cyber security insurance cybersecurity liability data breach data breach costs security budget

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Anita Sathe is an insurance professional with over 13 years of experience in the insurance industry, currently serving as the GM of CoverHound and CyberPolicy. She holds a breadth of experience ranging from product and underwriting strategy to technology implementation and actuarial analyses. She is one of only 12 to hold actuarial fellowship credentials across P&C, Life and Health Insurance. Prior to CoverHound, Anita was a Senior Manager with Deloitte Consulting.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Logical Security
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Logical Security
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

  • Duty of Care
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Integrating Technology and Physical Security to Advance Duty of Care

Popular Stories

Internal computer parts

Critical Software Vulnerabilities Rose 37% in 2024

Coding

AI Emerges as the Top Concern for Security Leaders

Half open laptop

“Luigi Was Right”: A Look at the Website Sharing Data on More Than 1,000 Executives

Person working on laptop

Governance in the Age of Citizen Developers and AI

Shopping mall

Victoria’s Secret Security Incident Shuts Down Website

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

June 24, 2025

Inside a Modern GSOC: How Anthropic Benchmarks Risk Detection Tools for Speed and Accuracy

For today's security teams, making informed decisions in the first moments of a crisis is critical.

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

From animal habitats to bustling crowds of visitors, a zoo is a one-of-a-kind environment for deploying modern security technologies.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • networking-security-freepik

    How to build a better corporate social media policy

    See More
  • cyber responsive default

    Average Breach Falls Below Cyber Insurance Policy Deductible

    See More
  • Cyber Liability Insurance: Moving from Insurance to Assurance; cyber security news

    How to protect businesses against the threat of ransomware attacks and the role of cyber insurance

    See More
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing