Cyber Insurance

Cyber Insurance is a relatively new form of cover. It’s designed to help protect your business from the financial impact of computer hacking or a data breach.

Why do I need it?

If your business has a website or electronic records, you’re vulnerable to cyber hackers. In fact, it’s likely that your business will suffer from a cyber attack at some stage.

A cyber attack could cost your business more than money. It could also threaten your intellectual property and put your customer’s personal information at risk – which could damage your reputation.

If you see it, report it!

In February 2017, the Australian government passed the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016 – setting up a mandatory nationwide data breach notification scheme. This means if you spot a security breach which may cause unauthorised access or disclosure of personal information, you’re legally required to report it to the Office of the Australian Commissioner within 30 days. You’ll also need to notify the people whose information has been affected.

What can it cover?

Cyber Insurance policies vary in the benefits they provide, but may include:

	Type of Cover	Potential benefits
	FIRST PARTY LOSSES
	Business Interruption losses	Covers financial loss you may suffer as a result of a cyber attack
	Cyber Extortion	The costs of a cyber attack, hiring negotiation experts, covering extortion demands and prevention of future threats
	Electronic Data replacement	The costs of recovering or replacing your records and other business data
	THIRD PARTY LOSSES
	Security and Privacy Liability	Damages to your reputation resulting from data breaches, such as loss of third party data held on your system.
	Defence Costs	Funds the legal costs of defending claims
	Regulatory Breach Liability	Covers legal expenses and the costs of fines arising from investigation by a government regulator.
	Electronic Media Liability	The costs of copyright infringement, defamation claims and misuse of certain types intellectual property online
	EXTRA EXPENSES
	Claims Management Expenses	Provides cover for the costs of managing a crisis caused by cyber hackers
	Notification and monitoring expenses	The costs of notifying customers of a security breach, and monitoring their credit card details to prevent further attacks