Is Your IT Provider Helping You Get the Best Cyber Insurance Rates?
Make Sure they are Advising you on these 5 Things
Despite the ever-rising prevalence of cyberattacks, the field of cyber insurance is still relatively new and evolving. Do you know what to look for when applying/renewing for a policy? We asked our friends at Datastream, local cyber insurance broker, for the top 5 mistakes companies make. When looking for a policy that offers the best coverage at a reasonable price, ask your IT provider to assist with these 5 things:

  1. Advising you about your Technology throughout the Application Process

    Throughout the application process your IT team should provide a roadmap, so you are aware of the cybersecurity measures implemented and how they meet the required guidelines put in place by the insurance provider.   

  2. Ensuring accuracy when you attest to having certain Cyber Security Controls in place

    The most common way a claim is denied is because at the time of applying for the policy a company attested to having certain cyber security tools in place, but when the carrier looks into it further during a claim they find that the tool(s) were not in place.

  3. Obtaining a Cyber Risk Rider or “Add-On” to a General Liability Policy

    -Riders are limited in the dollar amount they cover: typically, $50K-250K (barely covers coffee for your legal team now-a-days) versus a $1M stand-alone cyber policy.
    -Riders are limiting in the language found in the coverage itself.  An insurance policy is ideally very explicit, leaving little to no wiggle room for a carrier to find a way out of paying a policy and so they are often 70–100-page document of very clearly defined language, while riders are often 15-20 pages, often leaving gaps where a carrier can potentially find a way out of paying.

  4. Not Giving Yourself Enough Time to Prepare Before Renewal

    -Most carriers will start looking into a customer 3 months prior to an upcoming renewal to decide whether or not to offer a renewal, so you want to be sure to be preparing yourself as well by ensuring both your external and internal posture are up to snuff.
    -Cyber Insurance is currently in a state of standardization, with each carrier being slightly different from the next and so to ensure your policy is still the best fit, you will want to shop around before your renewal date.

  5. Shopping for a Policy Through More than One Carrier

    There is no standardization in the cyber insurance space at the moment so to ensure you are not overpaying for your policy, it’s smart to shop for policies from as many carriers as possible.