If your business was the target of a cyberattack, what would you do? What would be your first response? Do you have safeguards in place to protect your network from incursions, and after the breach, how would you do damage control and get back to normal?
If you are a business owner in this day and age, these are questions that you have to be asking yourself, even if you believe that your company isn’t a potential target for a hacker. The reality is that any organization can become a target. The Identity Theft Resource Center reported that there were 2,365 cyberattacks in 2023, with over 300 million victims. Protecting your business from this possibility is a necessity, and today’s most advanced cybersecurity measures are often best used hand-in-hand with cybersecurity insurance.
What is Cybersecurity Insurance?
Cybersecurity insurance is sometimes called cyber liability insurance, or just cyber insurance, and it’s exactly what the name implies– an insurance policy to cover the possibility of your business being hacked or breached in some kind of cyberattack. If you own a car, you get auto insurance to help pay for harm that comes from a vehicular accident. If you own a house, you would have homeowners insurance to cover the damages if someone were to break in.
With a business, cybersecurity insurance helps to cover the damages that might happen after an attack, like computer repair for damaged devices or systems, lost revenue, or legal expenses. Like with all types of insurance, cyber insurance is something you hope never to need, but will be very grateful to have if you ever do!
What Does Cybersecurity Insurance Usually Cover?
All cyber insurance policies are different, just like with any other kind of insurance. Additionally, as cybersecurity grows and time passes, the offerings of different insurance plans are changing as well. However, some things that you can expect to find on most cybersecurity insurance policies will include lost revenue as well as the costs of computer repair, digital asset reconstruction, system restoration and data retrieval, incident response, legal services, regulatory action, reputation management, and sometimes even ransom payments.
How Do I Get Cybersecurity Insurance for My Business?
The first step to finding cybersecurity insurance for your company or organization is to find a few providers who offer it. As this type of insurance becomes more commonplace in the field, more and more insurance companies are including it in their portfolios. Next, as with any type of insurance shopping, you’ll need to weigh their costs and offerings against your budget and needs, and decide which option will be your best fit.
When you apply for coverage with a particular insurance carrier, you may find that they have some assurances they want and hoops that you’ll need to jump through to ensure that your company isn’t too much of a risk to insure, similarly to getting a home inspection before insuring your house. Cybersecurity audits can be common requests. Once you’ve completed these tests and gotten your policy set up, you can go forward with peace of mind knowing that your business is covered!
What is a Cybersecurity Audit, and Do I Need One?
Cybersecurity audits are a full inspection and test of the defenses and cybersecurity measures that your business has in place to prevent breaches and keep cyberattacks from happening. It’s not unusual for insurance companies to request one before they’ll agree to cover you, to help them get a sense of how well-protected your company is against the kind of incidents that would require you to draw on your policy. It’s similar to how you have to report your accident history and the make and model of your car before you can get car insurance– the providers just want a clear picture of who and what they’re ensuring, and how big the potential risk is!
You’ll need one of these audits only if your chosen insurance provider requests it, but they can be good to have anyway, to give you as a business owner valuable information about how safe or vulnerable your network is.
How Can IT Services Help?
Seeking out professional IT services, like the kind we offer here at Progressive Computer Systems, can be hugely beneficial when you’re in the market for cybersecurity insurance. With the help of a professional, experienced IT team, you can ensure that you have the kinds of defenses that insurance providers will be looking for in place, protecting your business well enough to earn an easy “yes” to your application!
IT services can also help you whip your cybersecurity measures into shape so that you can stop potential cyberattacks in their tracks, keeping your insurance as a worst-case-scenario precaution, the way it’s meant to be! You can learn more about the services we offer here, or by contacting our team today.
