Cyber Liability: A BIG Risk for Small Businesses |

Did you know that small businesses experience cyber incidents at roughly the same rate as drivers experience car accidents? Though most of us would never go without auto insurance, a majority of small businesses don’t have cyber liability insurance coverage. According to the 2018 Small Business Cyber Insurance and Security Spotlight Survey conducted by the Insurance Information Institute and J.D. Power:

10 percent of the small businesses surveyed suffered at least one cyber incident in the prior year.
The average cyber-related loss was $188,400. In 2016, the average loss was $73,000.
Nearly 60 percent of small businesses are very concerned about cyber incidents.
59 percent do not have cyber insurance coverage.

The potential impacts of a cyber incident that most concern small businesses include:

financial loss (47 percent);
information breach / theft (35 percent);
reputation / brand image issues (14 percent); and
regulatory / governance and legal issues (4 percent).

According to the survey, businesses with cyber insurance often had similar coverages, including coverage for:

loss or corruption of data;
business interruption;
liability;
data breach and identity theft;
cyber extortion and cloud computing;
crisis management; and
Directors and Officers (management) liability.

There is one last thing to consider if your small business still doesn’t have cyber insurance coverage. According to the survey, 97 percent of the insured small businesses that experienced a cyber incident indicated that their cyber insurance policies adequately covered their losses. Please contact us if you would like more information about insurance specifically designed to protect against cyber threats and data security breaches.