Buying Cyber Insurance: Including BYOD to Your Policy

As important as cyber insurance, it does tend to have some gaps which need to be filled. The best way to fill these gaps is having proper understanding of the policy. When we talk about cyber-attacks, too often we focus our attention to business and business related devices and technologies. if we should take things as they truly occur in reality, we all would agree that employees often use their personal devices for work related activities.

As a matter of fact, some businesses even make this acceptable as they encourage it to boost productivity. Just like any device in your business is vulnerable to data breach, the same applies to those personal devices of your employees. The truth is that your standard cyber insurance policy does not include these employees’ devices to its coverage.

BYOD generally stands for ‘Bring Your Own Device” and covers all devices that are not registered to the business. So when reading through your policy, you should make it clear to the insurer that the term ‘computer system’ is not just limited to your business owned computer systems. Without the BYOD included in the policy, it means if the data breach occurs through your employee’s personal devices, the insurer would not take responsibility for such damage or loss.

Hiring a Public Adjuster

If you have no idea who a public adjuster is, then you either do not have insurance or you have never filed a claim. While not many people make use of a public adjuster, they function the same way as the adjuster giving to you by your insurance company. The major difference between a public adjuster and a company adjuster is who they are working for. When you report a damage or loss to your insurance company, the company almost immediately sends an adjuster to verify your claims. The adjuster works to make sure the company gets the best deal from the filed claim and also leaves you happy and comfortable.

A public adjuster on the other hand works entirely in your favor. They ensure you get paid for all the damages and loss as provided by the policy. In other words, a public adjuster can be ruthless in ensuring you get you desired compensation. Most people do not opt for the option of a public adjuster because most insurance companies know how well to broker a deal. If and when you are having issues with your insurer regarding compensation, you can always trust a public adjuster to help you fight for it. The adjuster’s work will only be completed if and when he secures your payment.

Getting the Best out of Your Homeowner’s Policy

When buying insurance policies, we often look at it from one direction – your benefits and your advantages. Well there is absolutely nothing wrong with this as it helps us ensure we get the best of policies. What if there is another way to view it to get the best deal?

You see, insurance companies are not some charity organization and it is best to understand what drives them and how they operate. Obviously one is not expecting you to go and learn the trades of insurance but the simple basics should be enough. While insurance companies take on the risks associated with your damage or loss, it is best to understand the level they can bear and why they can only bear that much.

A homeowner’s policy is designed to protect your home. If you have lots of valuables in the house, you may find the premium a bit too high. In trying to reduce people end up reducing the quality and coverage of the policy. Try installing a fire and security alarm and even go as far as linking it to your local police station. Cut down trees and shrubs that can cause damage to your property. Basically, do your best to protect your home as if you are not buying the insurance. These will not only help to reduce the premiums, it would also help keep your home extra safe for you – this way you even increase your deductible.

Steps to Filing a Cyber Insurance Claim

We all get cyber insurance to protect and cover us in case of a cyber attack. In the real sense, no business will want its data to be breached. Like most things in life, data breach is unpredictable and slowly becoming inevitable. So in case you are a victim of a data breach and you already have a cyber insurance policy, these are the steps you should follow in filing your claim. It’s important to note that different companies have slight variations in these steps. It’s best to work closely with your insurance company to see their exact steps.

Call Your Insurance Company

Irrespective of the type or location of the insurance company, this is usually the first step when filing  a claim. This steps notifies the insurance company of the loss or damage of your data. It is important that you put a call across to them immediately you experience or notice the loss or damage. Usually the company will acknowledge it and get back to you shortly.

Make a List

This part can be done before, during, or after making the call. If it is done before the call, then it has to be done quickly. Take a detailed inventory of all the affected data loss or damage. Not only will it allow you file a proper claim; it would help you accurately remember what exactly was lost or damaged.

Work with the Company

The insurance company will send in an adjuster and a usually a cyber security expert. While they are trying to ascertain the level of loss or damage, they would also be working to prevent further loss or damage. Make available to them all information that can help speed up either process. The sooner this step is done, the quicker your filed claim will be responded to.

2 Tips to Prepare Your Business for Data Breach

If you are reading this, chances are you are aware of the dangers of data breaches or hacks to any business - big or small businesses. While the world governments and the tech world put their heads together to provide solutions, as a business owner, you also need to take proactive steps. It goes without saying that you should have bought the right cyber insurance policy for your business by now. Even with this in place, you shouldn't sit back and leave your business security to chance. Here are two tips you should practice.

Develop a Formidable Incident Response Plan

This is not the time for any business to be living in denial. Cyber-attacks are real and can happen to just about anyone. Having an incident response plan on ground will help your business stand strong even after a data breach. In developing an incident response plan, you should ask yourself certain questions.

The answer to these questions will help you create your response plan. These questions include but not limited to, do you have a central command center in place? Who and what are the decision makers and investigative tools available? Who will take care of your PR? What exactly will you communicate?

Test Your Security System

This may seem like a normal thing to do but there are lots of businesses who really never do this. The basic idea behind this is to eradicate complacency. This will allow you find loopholes in your security systems before the hackers do. It is commonplace these days to see businesses hiring ethical hackers to help test their security systems occasionally. This may seem a bit expensive for growing small businesses but you could have an I.T expert help out with this. You will be amazed how this alone can help fortify your security systems, if done regularly and properly.

Cyber Insurance Hits the Spotlight

For a long time, when the topic of the economics of cyber threats is being discussed, cyber insurance is usually relegated. For so long, cyber insurance has been pleading to have the center stage but with the ever growing cyber threats, not only has it hit the spotlight, it's been encouraged to stay longer in it. Over the years we have seen governments of the world come together to fight the menace of cyber-attacks.

As the fight intensified, cyber hackers seemed to form a coalition of their own. Mostly targeted was the energy, aviation, health, financial industry. Obviously this caught the attention of all who were watching. In other to keep businesses afloat after such hits, governments started partnering with cyber insurance companies to help play the buffer for the risks.

Cyber insurance companies have assisted in billions of dollars worldwide. As the awareness grows, more businesses are buying cyber insurance policies. With the spotlight came a new demon. Overtime, businesses with average cyber security started falling prey to these cyber-attacks. This meant cyber insurance companies had to pay for claims filed. It had to come to a point were some insurers had to place a limit on coverage. For instance, some insurers place coverage limits to $100 million. This means if the damage or loss is more than $100 million, you would have to bear the remaining cost.

Demand and Supply: Can Insurance Companies Provide Enough Coverage?

With the ever growing cyber risks to businesses all over the world, cyber insurance policy insurers have been projected to record gains in this policy in the next 5-10 years. As surprising as this may seem, it shows there is no solution in sight to curbing cyber-attacks. As the world becomes more and more aware of cyber risks to business, the demand for cyber insurance has skyrocketed over the past few years.

It is no longer a matter of whether businesses are willing to purchase cyber insurance policies; it’s more about if these cyber insurance companies can provide enough for the growing need. In recent times, there has been an increase in the premiums for buying and renewing cyber insurance. The world is now technologically driven and many businesses have taken their business to the internet.

As good as this may seem, it predisposes them to the effect of cyber risk. Since cyber insurance stands as the only viable solution for businesses, the increase in demand for such policies will continue to grow. To avoid limitation or placing of caps, governments all over the world have to come together to support these insurers to help provide coverage for businesses.

Cyber Insurance Review

My business was already about 3 years old when I bought cyber insurance from Greater National Group. I have a home insurance policy with them before, so it was easy to get on board when I fully realized the importance of cyber insurance. About 18 months afterwards, my business had its first major data breach. As a flight booking agent, my company has thousands of personal information of clients. The hackers got into our system and reversed most of the booked flights.  

I was confused and afraid I would have to deal with one form of litigation or the other. When I contacted GNG, they quickly sent over an expert to fortify our firewall to prevent further hacks and data manipulation. Long and short of it all, GNG was able to restore my data and ensure our systems were upgraded with better protection. Cyber threat is real and it can be devastating. It is good to know my company had a trusted hand to keep us from falling. 

GNG Came Through for Me

I have to start by personally thanking Rob Sinclair and the entire GNG team for helping me out just when I needed them. I was involved in an accident few months ago as driver drove into my lane. Like things weren't bad enough, it was a weekend holiday. I was basically out of breath from worry. So in desperation I put a call across to GNG and surprisingly someone picked up. For some strange reason I wasn't expecting anyone to answer the phone. I was instructed on what to do by the agent and told to come over to the office on Monday.

While I have never had any doubt in the company, I was beyond amazed on how they walked me through the entire process without any problems. All questions were answered to my satisfaction. I even received calls to keep me updated on how far they have gone with the process. Thanks guys! You came through for me just when I needed it.

Cyber Insurance Broker Review

I have worked with the Greater National Group for several years now and I have not had any reason to regret. They have been my go-to insurance counsellor for my companies, I, and for some of my clients. It's always a pleasure to know I have a team of insurance professionals who are always in touch with the latest of all insurance policies and are always ready to make recommendations for me, where necessary.

I cannot count the number of times I have had to schedule an appointment with a member of their team to discuss new recommendations for my current policies. They take out time to go through the numbers with me, highlighting the benefits of each change to be made. I just want to say a big thank you Rob Sinclair and the team. It is a delight to know I can count on you guys anytime as far as insurance is concerned. 

How to Reduce Your Vulnerability to Business Theft

Every business at one time or the other is vulnerable to theft. The ease at which such theft occurrences would occur is largely determined by several factors like the size of the business, location, and nature of the business. Theft in this case applies to simple burglary, employee theft, to cyber-attacks. While having good theft insurance from a reputation company like Greater National Group will help when theft cases occurs, you can still do your best to prevent such attempts.  

To prevent theft by outsiders, you would have to put physical security measures in place. Ensure your business is well secured with strong locks and doors. These days we are mostly concerned about aesthetics but that shouldn't mean you have to compromise on security. There should be adequate lighting both internally and externally to scare away these burglars. In addition to this, an alarm system should be installed and connected to the nearest law enforcement agency.

Measures should be put in place to discourage employee theft. This is usually the greatest of thefts if left unchecked. There are several ways to go about this. You can speak to insurance brokers to help you out. Cyber-attacks would need more sophisticated security approaches but should still be undertaken to prevent loss. For this type of theft, a special insurance package called cyber insurance would be needed.

Read it also: Life Happens But How Prepared Are You?

Find Insurance That Matches Your Business Size

One of the mistakes that most small business owners makes is to live with the assumption that their business is not yet big enough for insurance. Others are even more daring to believe since it's a small business, it wouldn't need insurance. Before proceeding any further, it is important to understand that there are several types of insurance for small businesses. The one suitable for you would be determined by these factors: type of business, number of employees, and location of the business.

Home based businesses are a common type of small size businesses. As a matter of fact, many businesses start off as home based before growing into bigger sizes. Number of employees is usually not more than two persons. Yet there are still insurance packages for these. Home insurance would not necessarily cover your business, even if it's located at home.

Insurance experts at Greater National Group agree that for a business to be categorized under small businesses, it must have below 100 employees and make below $5 million. By this definition, it tells that there are many small businesses around. A Business Owner Policy (BOP) is usually ideal for businesses in this category. If you are still unsure of the category of your business, walk into any reputable business insurance company and ask the right questions.


Read it also: Cyber Insurance Review - Greater National Group

Using Hackers for Hire as the New Cyber Insurance for Your Business

Although they can wreck untold havoc to your business, unarguably, hackers are as good as they come. One of the things that make stopping cyber-attacks really hard for both businesses and governments is because these hackers are often anonymous. They may call themselves few names and have a mission but they still remain anonymous. Although firewalls are effective, in recent times we have seen big corporations fall prey to these hackers.

This leaves companies to source for other solutions, one beyond what conventional cyber insurance can offer. There's a common saying that goes something like 'you use a thief to catch a thief'. By getting renowned hackers to check your company security for vulnerability, you are able to stay one step ahead in case of future cyber-attacks. These hackers for hire are not so readily available but can be hired through middlemen.

Even top cyber insurance brokers often advise these measures to help protect their client's database. While the services of these hackers for hire do not come cheaply, looking at the long term benefits makes it an even better, cost effective approach. 

Read Also: 

Tips to Protect Your Business Website from Hacking By Top Cyber Insurance Broker

Cyber Insurance Brokers Look to Hackers to Help Curb Cyber-Attacks

The use of hackers by companies to help protect their data has long grown from a secret affair to a well-known practice. The list of big companies that use this method has some of the world's top companies in them. If a business deals with sensitive data, then it knows how valuable it is and how destructive it can be if it falls into the wrong hands.

Companies like Uber, Twitter, General Motors, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, you just name it. The list just goes on and on with more big names in it as players. So it is not out of place for cyber insurance companies to look towards replicating such approach for some of its clients. No matter how good a company's security team is, it is always profitable to include a hacker to the team. Basically hackers see flaws and vulnerability in any system.

Google had recently increased its public bug bounty program reward from $50,000 to $100,000. Basically what this program is after is to get hackers that can successfully find vulnerability and break into its Chrome software. Uber recently offered $10,000 to anyone that can successfully find a bug in their system. It has becomes imperative to include hackers in this fight against cyber-attacks and every business out there should take this a clue from this approach.

Read it also: Cyber Insurance Tips Small Businesses Should Be Aware Of

The Future of Hacking and Cyber Insurance

The technological world is growing rapidly in each passing year. Statistical projections estimates say that by the year 2020, there should be about 20 to 50 billion connected devices online. While this is a great success, it also shows that cyber-attacks could also advance in the nearest future. The only way to curb this would be for cyber insurance and security tools to keep changing and adapting to protect the vulnerability of systems.

How does this affect businesses? One of the ways to stay ahead in this fight against cyber-attacks is for businesses to always stay informed on the latest cyber security measures. The truth is that no one can take your business more seriously than you do. Small businesses should set aside about two hours each week to stay informed on the current trends on cyber security.

As disappointing as this may seem, there is no one single solution to prevent these cyber-attacks. A closer look at some of the big corporations that have been affected is a true indication that there just isn't any one solution to it. So for small businesses looking for some sort of cushion from these cyber-attacks, cyber insurance still remains the most viable option available on the table.

Cyber Insurance Sees to the Establishment of More Security Intelligence Centres

New and improved security intelligence centres are gradually replacing the traditional security intelligence centres. This has become imperative because there has been an exponential increase in the number of cyber-attacks in this decade than in any other before. The era of just sitting on the fence and watching to see how big businesses battle it out have long gone. The real fact on ground is that anyone and just about any business is susceptible to cyber hacking.

World governments have spent the past years blaming each other on these cyber-attacks but have recently come to an understanding that they ned to be united against this common enemy. Cyber insurance has played a remarkably, appreciative roles for businesses as they help cushion the effect of data breaches. It is in this light that governments have decided to partner with these cyber insurance brokers to find a way to save businesses.

Security intelligence centres with more advanced technologies have been put in place and still being established to help research ways to prevent and possibly stop these cyber-attacks. Cyber insurance brokers like the Australian Greater National Group are being called upon to work together with these security intelligence centres so as to proffer a long lasting solution to these cyber-attacks epidemic.

Cyber Insurance Starts from Businesses Employee Education

In today’s world, technology plays a vital role. As a matter of fact, development is being measured by the extent by which technology has been incorporated. As important as technology in our everyday lives, it too comes with a certain number of negatives. A major highlighted one of today is the issue of security. Since today’s companies heavily depend on technology, it is understandable to see why security is placed as their top priority.

The threat posed by cyber-attacks is very real and evident, even in more recent cases. The need for cyber insurance has never been so important than it is today. While there are several cyber security tools being developed daily, firewall seems to be at the forefront. Even with its advancement, firewalls have proven to have certain levels of limitations in them. Cyber insurance is the only viable tool currently available to help shield a business from the risk of cyber-attacks.

The beginning of any true cyber insurance program would have to begin with training of the business employees. The truth is, a large number of these security breaches are often caused by human errors. According to cyber insurance experts at Greater national Group, it is not just about getting the best cyber insurance policy. Companies must actively train its employees to understand the basics of cyber security.

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The Role of Cyber Insurance in Our Society Today Using UK Cyber-Attacks as Case Study

After a conclusive research carried out by the UK government, it released report urging the nation's businesses to better prepare themselves against cyber-attacks. The research report also stated that about 70% of these cyber-attacks involved the use of malware, spyware, or viruses. Just to prove that the government was fully committed to tackling this new crisis, the UK government has agreed to invest £1.9 billion into improving cyber security. The UK government has also said it would launch a new National Cyber Security Centre in the autumn of this year.

This call for businesses to better protect themselves was made when the research discovered that two-third of the nation's big businesses have fallen prey to one form of cyber breach or the other in the past year alone. These figures may seem alarming but it is a true indication of the rot cyber-attacks has caused in the UK alone. What then is this extra protection?

The answer lies in Cyber insurance and has been proven many a times to be the only line of defense again cyber-attacks. Cyber insurance works in the same principle as other general insurance but it deals more with electronic loses. According to professionals at Greater National Group, only Cyber insurance can be able to cover data loses of any kind. Taking a cue from the UK government's advice to its businesses, every business owner out there needs to be proactive in a society like the one we have today.

65% of Global Businesses Cannot Survive Without Cyber Insurance

Early this year, a report was published which showed that 65% of the total global businesses are not well equipped to prevent email based cyber-attacks. For any serious company, this report should be of real concern because it can affect just about anyone.

The report, named 'Mimecast Business Email Threat Report 2016: Email Security Uncovered' was based on an extensive survey carried out on 600 IT security professionals. This survey showed that a huge 65% of the world's businesses were susceptible to cyber-attacks through emails. As a matter of fact, one-third of the respondents were of the opinion that emails are no longer as safe as they used to be. The question left for all business owners - both big and small - to answer is: Are you willing to put your company in this 65%?

Saying No to such a question should go beyond words. While not all businesses can afford the level of cyber security that is used by the remaining 35%, all businesses can avail itself to the coverage of a good Cyber insurance. Cyber insurance, although nascent, is fast becoming one of the faster growing markets in the world. This is because businesses are no longer ready to play by the sidelines but are geared towards participating actively.

 www.gng.com.au/

New Cyber Insurance Premiums Pricing

With the ever growing rate of cyber-attacks, cyber insurance companies are beginning to review the price of their premiums. In some worse case scenarios, clients are beginning to sue some of these cyber insurance brokers for failing to pay for damages.

As a follower of the cyber insurance industry, one would easily agree that this was not how it used to be. As more and more cases of cyber-attacks are reported, these cyber insurance companies are gradually becoming unable to bear the risk. Some have gone as far as reviewing their contract and placing a limit to the amount paid as damages.

A more recent trend is the increase in the price of premiums. This has left businesses to go source for funds to get cyber insured. A better approach to bringing balance between premium prices and pay outs can be exampled from what is done by cyber insurance giants, Greater National Group Company. Upon renewal of the insurance, businesses are told to pay the new premium price which gradually reduces as renewals are made. For new businesses hoping to opt in, several packages with different premium prices and features have been created to meet the financial strength of these businesses.