Protect your business from cybercrime with cyber insurance

Cybercrime is not only becoming more common, cybercriminals are getting smarter. They are becoming more sophisticated, which is why more and more businesses do fall victim to cybercrime. Not only large companies, but also small businesses can face a cyber attack. Moreover, a cyber attack can have a great impact on the organization. When the company is hacked and in the process sensitive personal or business data is released into the street, you run the risk of significant reputational damage. A cyberattack can also bring business operations to a halt, causing you financial loss. To insure yourself and your company against this, you can take out cyber insurance.

What exactly is cyber insurance?

So a cyber attack can cause considerable (financial) damage. A cyber insurance policy insures your company against damages resulting from cybercrime. Often not only is business damage covered, but also damage incurred by a customer or business partner as a result of the cyber incident. Many cyber insurance policies are made up of three components:

• Prevention
  Together with the insurer, look at the risks you currently face in terms of cybercrime. Where can and should you take measures to minimize the risk of incidents, such as installing good security software.
• Restore
  After a cyber incident, damage recovery follows as quickly as possible.
• Compensation of damages
  Damage resulting from the incident will be compensated under certain conditions. Think of a computer that no longer works as a result of a virus, or when your web store is off the air due to a ransomware attack (hostage taking).

Requirements when purchasing cyber insurance

A number of requirements do apply when purchasing cyber insurance. These requirements are also part of the rubric of prevention with cyber insurance. For example, it is important that you have up-to-date security software, an appropriate password policy and regular backups. Exactly what requirements apply depends on the type of business you have and the relevant insurer, among other things.

Cyber insurance is an addition to your existing insurance policies

You should not think of cyber insurance as a replacement for business or professional liability insurance. As mentioned, damage after a cyber incident at a customer's premises is usually covered with cyber insurance, but that does not apply to other damages you cause at a customer's premises. For other liability damages, you still need business or professional liability insurance. Therefore, you can think of cyber insurance more as an addition to your other insurance policies.