US Pro Insurance Services is one of America’s top insurance brokers in the placement of and knowledge in the Cyber Liability Insurance world. We represent the broadest and most competitive markets available, and we proudly offer our superior service capabilities to the independent insurance agent.
We routinely write about Cyber Insurance news, coverage, and programs, as well as information on our other valuable thirty years of expertise in EPLI, D&O, Professional Liability, Medical Professional Liability, Media, Technology, Environmental, and Public Entities.
Today we take a look deeper into Cyber Liability Insurance and the exposures it is designed to cover. A big problem with this evolving coverage is the customer’s perception that the cost outweighs the benefit. This ideology comes from a lack of understanding of what the policy covers, and how they themselves are exposed. Far too often customer perception is not reality. So how do you overcome this?
The greatest tool any warrior has is his wisdom. Knowledge is power, so they say, but in this case, your own understanding of how loss events are created for your customer is your greatest tool to unlocking their own understanding of why they need this coverage.
The Rogue Employee
We have previously discussed the rogue employee, but simply put, a business’ greatest potential threat is its own employees. Disgruntled employees can destroy or disable programs, disrupt service, steal valuable client information or computer code, and disclose confidential information to competitors or others that can create a loss event.
Hacktivism
A new term to describe hackers using computer chaos as a means of social activism, this threat cannot be foreseen as targets often are random in nature. Systems and computers can be taken over and used as a means of taking over other computers, included into a botnet, or to transmit malicious code, spyware, software, spamming, phishing, pharming and more.
Mobile Devices
65% of all small businesses asked in a recent Symantec survey has reported the loss of at least 1 mobile device in the last year. This includes cell phones, smart phones, laptops, notebooks, and other portable mobile devices. Droid phones have become a favorite target for hacktivists as the operating systems on these often have little or no virus protections. Further, unencrypted data on stolen or lost laptops has created great risks as well as privacy breaches for major corporations.
Unauthorized Access
Unwanted or unauthorized access into your computer systems and programs occurs in many ways: unencrypted data on laptops, compromised user ID’s and passwords, unaware users, email schemes, and lost devices. The result is the compromise of sensitive information, including the potential compromise of personally confidential information of your customers OR your employees.
Negligence
Negligence remains the largest source of claims against businesses. Common problem areas include improper disposal of sensitive or confidential papers, unattended computers, sharing of passwords, and lack of control of information in one’s possession.
As you can see, a business does not even have to be on the Internet or even have computer systems to be susceptible to loss. Issues such as employee privacy can happen in any business as long as a breach of that information occurs. Policies today are written to protect all data, not just electronic date of the Insured.
So every business, small and large, east and west, private or public, and everyone in between, has a real and evident exposure and one needs to remember that Identity Theft is the fastest growing and number one crime in the U.S. today.
Consider US Pro as your source for Cyber Insurance, and ask us to quote the D&O and EPL, or the Professional Liability as well, for your client. To send us a submission, or to request an application, please reply to this email or write us at ksneed@usproins.com today!
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