Are You Sure You Qualify For Cybersecurity Insurance?
Have you been researching cybersecurity insurance, but aren’t sure if you qualify? Before you can secure coverage, you need to do your due diligence and enhance your cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity insurance is a relatively new type of protection designed specifically to help cover the potentially massive expenses associated with an unavoidable data breach. It can be a worthwhile investment, so long as you know how it works.
Veltec Networks can ensure that you qualify for a robust cybersecurity policy, and help you meet the standards set out in the claim process as well. Get in touch with the Veltec Networks team to discover how our cybersecurity suite will manage your insurance policy compliance.
Cybersecurity Insurance Won’t Protect You If Your Cybersecurity Standards Aren’t Up To Par
The somewhat inevitable nature of modern cybercrime has led businesses to consider cybersecurity insurance as a final layer of reassuring protection.
In fact, it’s becoming more and more necessary, as many insurance providers have begun drawing a clear line between normally covered losses, and those incurred by cybercrime-related events. That means that if your cybersecurity doesn’t meet the standards of your insurance provider, you may not be as well covered as you think.
What Is Cybersecurity Insurance?
Often referred to as cyber liability or data breach liability insurance, cybersecurity insurance is a type of stand-alone coverage. It’s designed to help businesses cover the recovery costs associated with any kind of cybersecurity incident including:
- Breach And Event Response Coverage: A very general and high-level form of coverage, this covers a range of costs likely to be incurred in the fallout of a cybercrime event, such as forensic and investigative services; breach notification services (which could include legal fees, call center, mailing of materials, etc.); identity and fraud monitoring expenses; public relations and event management.
- Regulatory Coverage: Given that a range of organizations (such as The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and more) have a hand in regulating aspects of cyber risk in specific industries, there are usually costs that come with defending an action by regulators. This covers the costs associated with insufficient security or “human error” that may have led to a privacy breach. Examples may include an employee losing a laptop or e-mailing a sensitive document to the wrong person.
- Liability Coverage: This type of coverage protects the policyholder and any insured individuals from the risks of liabilities that are a result of lawsuits or similar claims. Put simply, if you’re sued for claims that come within the coverage of the insurance policy, then this type of coverage will protect you.
- Cyber Extortion: This type of cybercrime event is generally a form of a ransomware attack, in which a cybercriminal keeps encrypted data inaccessible (or, alternatively, threatens to expose sensitive data) unless a ransom is paid. Coverage of this type addresses the costs of consultants and ransoms, including cryptocurrencies, for threats related to interrupting systems and releasing private information.
How To Get Cybersecurity Insurance
In order to determine what type of Cybersecurity Insurance you may need, it’s important to start by taking stock of your business and the potential threats posed to it:
- Evaluate your system infrastructure: The best way for you and your team to determine the kind of coverage that is best for your organization is to understand your IT infrastructure. By evaluating your systems from top-to-bottom, you’ll have a clear idea of all the different access points that could be leaving your network vulnerable to threats.
- Improve your security to reduce rate: Don’t forget to look into how investing in your cybersecurity could save you money on premiums. Open up a dialogue about it with your potential Cybersecurity Insurance provider and see what they suggest.
- Identify your risks: Next, it’s best practice to conduct a risk assessment and an impact analysis. Carefully review all your organizational assets—including financial data, customer information, and intellectual property. Categorize assets according to their risk and make considerations for the potential impacts that a data security event could have on all aspects of your business.
Are You Sure You Qualify For Cybersecurity Insurance?
Use this checklist to evaluate where you stand in terms of cybersecurity standards followed by cyber insurance companies today.
These are just a few of the requirements that insurance companies will hold you to in order to qualify for a policy, as well as coverage in the event of an incident:
- Application Whitelisting
- Asset Inventory
- Custom Threat Intelligence
- Content Filtering
- Database Encryption
- Data Loss Prevention
- DDoS Mitigation
- DNS Filtering
- Email Filtering
- Employee Awareness Training
- Endpoint Protection
- Incident Response Plan
- Intrusion Detection System
- Mobile Device Encryption
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Network Monitoring
- Patch Management
- Penetration Tests
- Perimeter Firewalls
- Security Info & Event Management
- Security Awareness Training
- Vulnerability Scans
- Web Filtering
- Web Application Firewall
Need Help Qualifying For Cybersecurity Insurance?
Meeting the stipulations laid out by cybersecurity insurance providers may not be easy depending on the state of your cybersecurity posture. Veltec Networks can help you improve your approach to cybersecurity.
Our team provides cybersecurity and technology services for organizations like yours—we are available to help you develop a robust cybersecurity defense.
We can ensure you qualify for a policy and minimize the chance that you’ll have to make a claim on your cybersecurity insurance. Get in touch with our team to get started.
Thanks to our friends at CEU Technologies in Chicago for their help with this article.
