As cybercrime continues to grow in both frequency and severity, you might be asking yourself if getting cyber insurance is worth it. The simple answer to this question is yes: individuals and families should consider adding personal cyber insurance coverage to their risk management framework. According to the 2020 Internet Crime Report, there were 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime which marks an increase of more than 300,000 complaints from 2019.
Reported losses exceeded $4.2 billion. According to this report, the top three crimes reported by victims in 2020 were phishing scams, non-payment/non-delivery scams, and extortion.
Though it’s clear that buying cyber coverage is important, finding the right solution isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Insurance carriers that serve high net worth families each have their own policies with strengths and weaknesses. Prior to purchasing cyber coverage you should fully understand the coverage, services and limitations of the policy.
To help you navigate the personal cyber insurance landscape, we assembled a list of questions you should be asking your insurance broker before pulling the trigger on a cyber policy purchase decision.
- What are the coverages and exclusions afforded by the personal cyber insurance policy?
- Is personal cyber covered via a standalone policy or by endorsement on the homeowner’s policy? Is a standalone or endorsement policy preferred, and why? Can I purchase cyber coverage from a carrier different than my homeowner’s carrier?
- What are the policy limits, and are there sub limits to consider? Be sure to ask about the cost for reimbursement, the availability of crisis management, and fraud limits.
- Does the coverage reimburse for financial loss due to fraud, whether it is committed on or offline? Be sure to ask if social engineering, voluntary parting with cash, unauthorized transfers or payments, forgery, and alteration of checks are covered by the policy.
- Does the coverage respond when you or your family is a target of cyber extortion and cover a demand for payment?
- Do you have access to a crisis management team? If so, is this service complimentary or provided at a discounted rate?
- Does the policy pay to reinstall damaged software, remove malicious hardware, reconfigure your device or system, replace electronic data that was lost or compromised, and restore photos?
- Does the policy provide coverage for cyber bullying, cyber breach of privacy, and cyber disruption?
- Will there be experts monitoring public record databases to see if my data has been exposed? Is this an available option when I purchase coverage? Is this service only available when I have a loss?
- Are there subjectivities or limitations? Are limits subject to no prior fraud or cyber incidents in the prior 24-36 months?
- Do we still need kidnap ransom and extortion coverage if we have cyber extortion coverage?
- How does personal cyber coverage differ from cyber coverage we have for the family office, and do we need both?
If purchasing cyber coverage seems complicated or you want to make sure you’re making the best purchase decision for your risk profile, be sure to consult a trusted professional who thoroughly understands your unique risk profile and proven experience navigating the cyber insurance marketplace.
The Atténuer Risk team is ready to discuss how we can work together to help you identify the right cyber risk management solution.
