All you need to know before securing your enterprise a cyber liability insurance policy

All you need to know before securing your enterprise a cyber liability insurance policy RiskXchange The leader in Third-Party Cyber Risk Management

Insurance providers leverage RiskXchange when underwriting cyber insurance policies for their customers.

Businesses around the world and spanning all industries rely on technology and the internet to carry out the bulk of their operations. As a result of this new age of digitisation and cloud-based operating, organisations have opened themselves up to many cybersecurity challenges.

As data breaches become commonplace so does the need for a cyber liability insurance policy. Cyber liability insurance can help when it comes to filling the gaps not covered by security programs already in place. Bespoke policies can cover costs and help return businesses to usual as quickly as possible and as soon as a breach occurs.

Just like conventional insurance policies are not a one-size-fits-all approach, cyber insurance policies work in a similar way. It’s therefore extremely important to understand the various types of coverage available and the many ways in which they can help organisations recover from an attack.

Understanding cyber liability insurance

Cyber liability insurance provides businesses with the help they need to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyberattacks and threats in the quickest time possible. In a nutshell, cyber insurance will contribute to, may even completely cover, any financial losses incurred as a result of a data breach or cybersecurity event.

Cybersecurity insurance policies cover liability investigations and lawsuits and are a must if your business deals with personal health information (PHI), personally identifiable information (PII) or payment card information (PCI). Cyberattacks can come at any time and at any moment, so it’s important to protect your organisation from an event that could end up costing you millions of pounds or dollars in the long-term.

The benefit of RiskXchange

RiskXchange is a leader in cybersecurity ratings management. We support over 100,000 organisations when it comes to enterprise and third-party risk management. Insurance providers leverage our platform when underwriting cyber insurance policies for their customers. RiskXchange enables insurers to take control of their own risk profiles. Insurance providers leverage our platform when underwriting cyber insurance policies for their customers. 

Types of cyber liability insurance

Cyber liability insurance coverage will vary depending on the unique needs of your business as well as from the provider you are purchasing the insurance. It’s important to choose the right provider and the correct policy for your business needs.

Most cyber insurance policies will include both first and third-party coverage. Let’s take a closer look at what each one means:

First-party coverage

First-party coverage will help businesses with the expenses incurred as a direct result of a security breach – cyber extortion costs are a prime example. First-party liability insurance coverage can include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Protecting reputation and repair: This part of the policy will cover costs associated with repairing and upholding your organisation’s reputation following an attack or data breach. This will include covering PR and marketing costs, and any damage limitations.
  • Software or hardware repairs: This section should cover any costs incurred for replacing or repairing hardware and electronic data that was damaged during a breach or attack. It should also cover the costs of any consultants required to help restore the data.
  • Loss of revenue due to disruption to operations: The policy should cover any income that may have been lost as your organisation repairs any damage caused by an attack or breach, and get operations back to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible.
  • Cost of customer and client outreach: This part will cover any costs incurred when notifying parties that they may have been affected by an attack or breach – both voluntarily and/or required by law. Costs such as customer credit monitoring should also be covered.

Third-party coverage

Third-party coverage helps businesses defend lawsuits and against legal claims made by those who were affected by a data breach that occurred within your organisation. Third-party liability insurance coverage includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Privacy lawsuits: This part of the policy should cover claims against your organisation that allege the breach or attack occurred as a result of your business failing to properly secure sensitive data. These costs can be remarkably high and is therefore an extremely important area to cover.
  • Regulatory fines: This part covers any penalty costs or regulatory fines that your organisation must pay as a result of an attack or data breach. Specifically aimed at costs related to data breach laws and compliance regulations that your business has been found to have violated, including costs and fines and any lawyer expenses.
  • Media liability: Covers your organisation against claims of defamation, slander, libel, copyright infringement, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, and any other liabilities that are related to this area.
  • Breach of a contract or negligence claims: This section should cover your organisation against costs from parties that claim your business acted out of negligence, which can either be independent or classed as a breach of contract.

How RiskXchange can help

RiskXchange is one of the firms leading the fight against cybercrime, coming up with novel solutions to everyday problems experienced at the hands of hackers. We are a respected provider of cybersecurity ratings utilised by insurance providers when underwriting cyber insurance policies for their customers.

With full visibility over your eco-systems’ entire attack surface in near real-time, you can regularly monitor and mitigate risks to prevent unnecessary exposures. Our passive data collection methods are effective and have no impact on your network performance. Using data-driven insights to prevent breaches is the best way to reduce an attack surface and prevent cyberattacks. 

About RiskXchange

RiskXchange provides a powerful AI-assisted, yet simple automated and centralised 360-degree cybersecurity risk rating management approach. We generate objective and quantitative reporting on a company’s cybersecurity risk and performance, which enables organisations with evolving business requirements to conduct business securely in today’s open and collaborative digital world. 

RiskXchange is an information security technology company, which helps companies of all sizes fight the threat of cyber threats by providing instant risk ratings for any company across the globe. RiskXchange was founded and is led by recognised experts within the security industry, who have held leading roles within companies such as IBM Security. 

Find out more here.