What is cyber insurance?
As technology rapidly evolves, bringing in new and innovative ways of working, the potential of cyber threats finding a way onto your network also increases. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that organisations take the necessary precautions to minimise cyber risk.
Cyber insurance provides a robust safety net between you and those notorious cyber threats, covering losses relating to damage, loss of information in IT systems, or data breaches in your network.
Overall, Cyber attack insurance is designed to cover and protect you, your team and your data from threats in the digital age. Our specialist consultants are always on hand to help you qualify for cyber insurance. Book a free consultation today to see what services are available to help you quilify
What does cyber security insurance cover?
Cyber attack insurance coverage looks after losses relating to the damage of information across your IT systems and networks.
Directly covering negative financial impacts on your organisation, Cyber attack insurance coverage supports any first-party, malicious cyber event you may encounter. This can include theft of funds and data or damage to your digital assets.
Additionally, cyber liability insurance can cover actions brought against you as a result of a cyber event, also known as a third-party loss. For example, Cyber security insurance can cover you in circumstances like investigation and defence costs or compensation for affected investors or external parties.
Generally speaking, and akin to our cyber security awareness training, cyber insurance includes assistance from professionals in the field before and after an incident to ensure team members are not only aware of cyber threats but also educated on the matter.
Who needs cyber attack insurance?
As we mentioned earlier, cyber threats are evolving alongside technology, and organisations are their greatest prey.
In fact, according to the 2023 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 32% of organisations in the UK have experienced security breaches or attacks, specifically, 59% for small organisations and 69% for large organisations. Those are some hefty numbers…
With a total estimated cost of £21bn, UK organisations are first in line to feel the burn of cybercrime. So, for any organisation that wants to ensure their data and team members are safe, cyber security insurance is an absolute must.
How do I get cyber attack insurance coverage?
Though it’s important to get your cyber attack insurance coverage sorted sooner rather than later, we wouldn’t recommend going straight in and saying yes before you know what you specifically need.
Before you whack out the wallet, you should identify what your organisation needs protecting from the most and which scenarios you don’t want occurring in the workplace. By doing this, you may reduce the overall cost of cyber insurance.
You can buy cyber-attack insurance coverage from an insurer or specialised brokers. For more information on where to find specialised brokers, check out the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).Remember – Don’t limit yourself to the minimum cyber security standards or what an insurer tries to sell to you; they might not match the needs of your organisation.
What is required to qualify for cyber liability insurance?
In general, policies are available for SMEs with cover limits between £100k and £5 million, though higher amounts are available for organisations facing more intricate and complex cyber risks.
However, certain requirements need to be met to attain cyber liability insurance. Funnily enough, these requirements align with the best practices that come with cyber security. So, if you’re already familiar with cyber security awareness training, you’re on the right track already.
But for those readers who might be unsure of what needs doing to acquire cyber liability insurance, there are a number of requirements insurance companies typically look at to make sure you’re viable, each one will essentially reduce the costs associated with insurance and help guarantee your application is a success.
How can I reduce the cost of cyber insurance?
As we mentioned above, the more you do before getting cyber insurance, the better chance of a sweeter deal! So what exactly can you do to reduce the costs?
Cyber security training for employees
If you can prove to insurance brokers you mean real business when it comes to cyber security – doing everything you can to mitigate risks and breaches – the chances of a reduced premium or discount increase!
And how lucky you are to already be reading this on a cyber security awareness training website – a market-leading training service, too! So, if you’re looking to train up your team on a wide array of cyber threats and data protection to ensure your organisation is secured, get in touch with our expert team today!
GDPR awareness training
When you’re constantly juggling multiple teams, projects and responsibilities, GDPR compliance could potentially get swept under the rug.
However, it’s crucial to acknowledge and understand its importance; if team members aren’t following GDPR regulations, it can impact your access to the right cyber insurance for your organisation.
With GDPR training, you provide team members with a comprehensive understanding of the principles, rights, and obligations of GDPR.
With CSA, we add new courses to our GDPR training service every year, along with course updates when legislation changes.
Vulnerability management
In a nutshell, vulnerability management is a comprehensive strategy your organisation implements that identifies, assesses and helps you mitigate cyber threats.
By demonstrating a reduced risk profile to insurers, you may qualify for a lower insurance premium.
Vulnerability scanning provides continuous vulnerability scanning that offers full visibility of your IT assets and the risks they pose to your organisation.
Our V-Scan service provides you with an always-on service that scans for breachable gaps in your network, allowing for complete control of your vulnerability exposure and pinpointing system vulnerabilities before they become a problem.
Strong security policies
A Managed Policy Acknowledgement Service (MPAS) streamlines policy management, allowing your organisation to effectively host, deliver and track policy acceptance without adding to your time or workload.
Through CSA’s MPAS, you can send us your policies, which we’ll host on custom-branded policy acceptance pages for your organisation. Even better, we’ll create or include an assessment based on your policy!
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most common and effective security procedures available that keeps user accounts secure and prevents unauthorised logins.
You’ve probably seen – and become slightly annoyed – at an MFA before. MFAs require you to log in with a username and password to confirm your true identity. However, an additional layer (the next factor) is then added to increase security measures; this could be a one-time code or fingerprint.
Maintaining robust data backup procedures
Backing up your data can make all the difference between a complete loss of everything you have or a full recovery after a cyber breach on your organisation.
When backing up data, we’d recommend utilising both on and off-site backups for storing your data. As breaches and ransomware attacks become more prominent in the digital space, backups are essential if you want to avoid a big red target painted across your organisation.
Managing identity access
Identity access management (IAM) has the goal of managing access so the right people have their eyes on the data and content they need, all whilst denying entry to suspicious users, like hackers. With an IAM system in place, your organisation can quickly verify a user’s identity and if they have the clearance to use the requested resources.
Emails, databases, data, and applications, IAM can cover it all. Generally speaking, the focus is on assigning identities for users that require the content, ensuring only certain team members can access certain data.
Implementing data classification
Users should only be allowed to access the data and content needed to perform their job. Data classification access assists your organisation by implementing these regulations across all your connected devices. Overall, this means users can’t install dodgy software on devices, and ultimately, assist you in meeting cyber insurance requirements.
Gain compliance certifications
Nothing persuades someone more than seeing proof of your hard work so far. When you attain the correct credentials, an ISO 27001 certification, for example, you demonstrate to insurers that your organisation takes action and is proactive in protecting systems and data.
Not only does this show you care about the sanctity of your organisation, but also that brand reputation and customer engagement are something you want to cherish and preserve.
Robust network architecture
Network protection might seem under control, but ask yourself, how many unwanted, phishing emails still land in your staff mailboxes every day?
Phishing protection services strengthen your employee’s security awareness whilst reinforcing your network security.
With Cyber Security Awareness, our phishing protection services provide detailed insights into emails and staff inboxes, delivering alerts and reporting capabilities within Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. For example, our Phish999 Phishing Protection Service analyses the contacts your staff interacts with to build a trusted sender list.
Additionally, our V-PenTest services conduct rigorous, real-time monitoring of your network, performing exploit attempts across your network that replicate a genuine cyber attack.
After successful exploitation, V-PenTest performs post-exploitation attacks, including privilege escalation and lateral movement within your network to see if it can further infiltrate your network. Ultimately, this demonstrates to insurers you’re already provocative and looking for weaknesses within your network.
Endpoint protection
Endpoint protection is a cyber security process that helps to defend your endpoints (desktops, laptops, mobiles, etc.) from antagonistic hackers.
By reviewing your files and procedures, endpoint protection processes look out for suspicious system activity or malicious indicators across your network.
Notably, antivirus software is a common element of an endpoint security solution, finding and removing viruses and other types of malware that may have found their way into your network.
Our services
Stop your employees from causing security incidents without the hefty price tags and adding to your workloads.
Our unique, fully managed SATT (Security Awareness Training and Testing) service provides phishing testing and cyber security training to keep your employees vigilant towards cybercrime.
Gain evidence that your employees have been trained on the latest GDPR legislation.
Our GDPR Awareness training managed service is a fully managed online course used to train all employees on the GDPR, with GDPR refresher training included. All fully managed and fully reported for your organisation.
Regardless of your current email security solutions, how many unwanted, phishing, and potentially harmful emails still land in your users’ mailbox every day?
Phish999 bolsters your employee’s security awareness, providing detailed insights into emails and delivering phishing alerts and reporting capabilities within Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Can you prove your employees have read, accepted and understood your organisation’s policies?
Our service will seamlessly deliver your corporate policies to your employees, record acceptance and report all evidence back in detail.
Policy Acknowledgement is a fully managed service used to free up your busy workloads and is a great alternative to traditionally costly and cumbersome HR systems.
How many of your organisation’s credentials have been compromised?
CyberSIGHT goes to the deepest, darkest areas of the web to find stolen credentials on your corporate e-mail accounts and produces comprehensive reports and real-time alerts when evidence of a breach is found.
Request a free report to get started.
A vulnerability assessment is only as good as the last time your systems were checked. Within an hour, your organisation could be at risk again.
Always-on scanning of open ports is the most effective and ROI friendly way of taking control of your vulnerability exposure, exposing invisible vulnerabilities before they become a problem.
Undertaking a penetration test to understand how robust your network is should be more than an annual, one-off exercise for organisations.
V-PenTest provides your organisation with fully automated penetration testing and reports on a monthly basis, so you’re always up-to-date with points of weakness and exploits within your network and IT infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs cyber insurance?
Cyber insurance is essential for all organisations of all sizes, especially those handling sensitive data or reliant on digital operations.
In today’s interconnected world, any organisation with an online presence is vulnerable. Cyber insurance offers peace of mind and helps mitigate the potentially devastating financial losses and reputational damage resulting from cyber incidents.
Does cyber insurance reduce risk?
Whilst cyber insurance doesn’t directly reduce risk, it notably serves as a financial safety net against potential cyber threats.
Cyber insurance encourages proactive risk management by incentivising companies to implement robust cybersecurity measures to qualify for coverage. So, whilst it may not eliminate the possibility of cyberattacks, having insurance can mitigate the financial impact of incidents like data breaches or ransomware attacks.
How is cyber insurance calculated?
Cyber insurance premiums are calculated based on various factors, including the size and industry of the organisation, its cybersecurity posture, past data breach history, and coverage limits desired. Insurers assess risk factors like the type of data stored, network security measures in place, and the likelihood of cyber threats. As we mentioned above, organisations with robust cybersecurity protocols may qualify for lower premiums.
Additionally, insurers consider external factors like the evolving cyber threat landscape and regulatory requirements. Actuarial models and underwriting expertise help insurers determine pricing, balancing coverage needs with the likelihood of a cyber incident occurring.
What percentage of companies have cyber insurance?
According to a study carried out by Aviva, despite this elevated risk of cyber breaches in recent memory, a cyber insurance coverage gap can be seen across industries, with only 36% of organisations reporting that they have some form of cyber cover.
When we break this study down, mid-market organisations led the way with 51% having coverage, followed by large organisations at 45%. However, for small organisations, only 17% said they had cyber insurance policies in place, with an equal proportion saying they were unaware that such coverage even exists!
What are the most common cyber insurance claims?
The most common cyber insurance claims include those arising from data breaches, ransomware attacks, and business interruption due to cyber incidents.
Data breaches, involving compromised personal or financial information, often lead to costly legal fees, notification expenses, and regulatory fines, whereas ransomware attacks result in demands for payment to restore access to encrypted data. Business interruption claims stem from disruptions to operations caused by cyber incidents, resulting in lost revenue and additional expenses to recover.
Does cyber insurance cover fines?
Generally, cyber insurance covers fines and penalties resulting from data breaches or cyber incidents, depending on policy specifics. However, coverage may vary based on factors like the nature of the violation and the insurer’s terms.
For example, regulatory fines imposed by authorities for non-compliance with data protection laws, such as GDPR or HIPAA, are often included in cyber insurance policies.
Additionally, coverage may extend to legal expenses incurred during regulatory investigations. However, exclusions may apply, especially for fines resulting from intentional misconduct or fraudulent activities. It’s essential to review policy details carefully to understand the extent of coverage.