Cyber insurance in Ontario, Canada has become an essential component of any risk management program. Businesses have to deal with business disruptions, lost revenue and litigation. It's important to remember that no organization is immune to the impact of cyber crime.

What does an Ontario cyber insurance policy cover in Canada?

Cyber insurance policies are tailored to meet your company's specific needs and can offer a number of important benefits, including:

Data breach insurance coverage
Business interruption insurance
Cyber extortion defence
Coverage beyond a general liability policy

Data breach insurance coverage

In the event of a breach, organizations are required by law to notify affected parties. This can add to overall data breach costs, particularly as they relate to security fixes, identity theft protection for those impacted by the breach and protection from possible legal action. Cyber liability insurance policies include coverage for these exposures, thus safeguarding your data from cyber criminals.

Business interruption insurance

A cyber attack can lead to an IT failure that disrupts business operations, costing your organization both time and money. Cyber liability policies may cover your loss of income during these interruptions. What's more, increased costs to your business operations in the aftermath of a cyber attack may also be covered.

Cyber extortion defence

Ransomware and similar malicious software are designed to steal and withhold key data from organizations until a steep fee is paid. As these types of attacks increase in frequency and severity, it's critical that organizations seek cyber liability insurance to help recoup losses related to cyber extortion.

Learn more:
www.scrivens.ca/blog/report-predicts-escalation-of-cyber-attacks-in-2017
www.scrivens.ca/blog/cyber-attacks-increasing-for-canadian-organizations

How does cyber insurance work?

Cyber insurance helps companies navigate through many technology-based risks that might occur, including risks associated with a company's information technology infrastructure and activities such as a systems failure event, cyber attack, or data breach.

Businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on services and applications connected to the internet, which makes them become a larger target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities in their systems. Every password we set, tool we use, and network we access leaves us exposed and vulnerable to cyber threats. Just like any insurance policy, you hope to never have to use your cyber policy, but when you do, it’s there.‍

‍Who needs cyber liability insurance?

Any and all companies would benefit from the increased protections cyber insurance policies provide. Whether you’re a small one-person business that stores everything on your computer and in the cloud to a company with employees working at the office and remotely, cyber policies can provide coverage and protection from cybercriminals.

Learn more:
www.scrivens.ca/blog/5-types-of-cyber-attacks-that-threaten-small-businesses
www.scrivens.ca/blog/cyber-exposures-and-the-importance-of-coverage-in-manufacturing

Why is cyber insurance important to small businesses?

Just like any other type of insurance, cyber insurance protects you and your business against potential losses and further disruptions to your daily operations. Costs associated with cybercrimes can be extremely high for a small business to afford. Small businesses are viewed as easy targets because they typically do not have the sophisticated security or IT departments larger firms may have. It’s best to protect yourself through purchasing a cyber liability policy rather than remain uninsured and hope you won’t become a victim to cybercriminals. Cyber Insurance companies provide valuable resources to small businesses and often provide their phone number to policyholders to call cyber security experts free of charge, providing proactive risk mitigation, rather than only being available when a cyberattack happens.

Learn more:
www.scrivens.ca/blog/keep-remote-employees-safe-from-cyber-threats
www.scrivens.ca/blog/88-percent-of-employees-lack-knowledge-to-prevent-cyber-incidents

How much does cyber insurance cost and how do you calculate cyber insurance?

It depends on many factors including company size, number of employees, online presence (is your business using the internet to conduct business?), how much personally identifiable information you store, how you process payments, and how you secure your computer systems (are they encrypted? What type and when do you back up your computers?). Cyber insurance companies will review all these factors and more to determine your exposure and how to charge accordingly.

Learn more:
www.scrivens.ca/blog/5-tips-for-applying-for-cyber-insurance
www.scrivens.ca/blog/noteworthy-cyber-security-news-items

Is cyber liability insurance worth it?

Absolutely, more and more claims occurring. In a recent report it was determined cybercrime costs will hit $6 trillion by the end of 2021 with over 50% of victims being small to medium size businesses. It’s been calculated that there is a business breached every 39 seconds so it’s best to protect yourself from cyber liability by purchasing a policy rather than hoping you won’t experience a cyber attack.

Learn more:
www.scrivens.ca/blog/protecting-against-online-fraud-cyber-liability
www.scrivens.ca/blog/the-biggest-cyber-security-disasters-of-2017
www.scrivens.ca/blog/criminals-hijacked-100-000-devices-in-dyn-cyber-attack‍

Coverage beyond a general liability policy

General liability (CGL Insurance) policies don't always protect organizations from losses related to data breaches. Data is generally worth far more than physical assets, and it's important to have the right protection in place when you need it most.

Supplementing your business insurance with cyber insurance can provide you with peace of mind that, in the event of an attack, your organization's financial and reputational well-being is protected.