As ransomware and other cyber attacks increasingly hobble victim company’s ability to operate in the wake of an attack, more cyber insurance policies are including business interruption coverage.
When these policies first hit the market, they were mostly focused on covering the costs of notifying individuals whose personal data or credit card information may have been exposed, to any regulatory penalties and other compliance costs.
But many companies, when hacked, suffer far more damage to their operations, including websites or important systems being rendered unusable.
The larger danger to companies seems to be system failures resulting from a variety of novel attacks, including;
Denial of service
Brute force (an attack aimed at obtaining passwords)
Malware or malicious code
Ransomware
Backdoor attacks
Social engineering.
Business interruption policies have traditionally covered loss of income caused by disruptions in supply chains and events like a fire or natural catastrophe that render a business unable to operate.
But, property policies or traditional business interruption policies do not cover income loss from a cyber attack since these policies are only triggered after a direct physical loss or damage.
Meanwhile, for cyber business interruption coverage to be triggered, there must usually be a direct link between a cyber attack and the interruption of business or a loss of sales. For example:
Criminals lock a company’s computer systems and demand that the company pay a ransom to restore its data. The company may lose income when it can’t use its systems and even when it is trying to recover after paying a ransom.
A denial-of-service attack renders a website inaccessible to customers and users.
The policy will include a maximum payout for business interruption claims. The cap may apply to each individual event or it may be an annual limit.
Policies may include a separate deductible for business interruption claims.
Policies may include a specific waiting period of hours or days before it kicks in to pay a claim. If the event causes losses or a disruption that lasts less than the waiting period, the claim would likely not be paid.
Policies usually will only pay for business interruption during the period that the company is restoring its systems and getting things running again.
Coverage usually includes exceptions, like not covering third party liability, fines and penalties and the costs of restoring a network.
Most policies include exclusions, like loss of market share or damage to computer systems caused by fire or other physical events that were not related to a cyber attack.
For more information, please call us. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
BGES Group’soffice, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, Workers Compensation Premium Recovery, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.
Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT)– We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages. We help contractors set up proper risk transfer. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.
BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut– Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Replacing policies that are being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits; 9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.
If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.
Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538
