Does Your Small Business Need Cyber Insurance?

When even big hitters like Experian are hacked, it makes the news. If a small business suffers a cyber attack we don’t necessarily hear about it, but it happens. Stolen data can cost a company a lot of money, no matter their size. A small business, however, is more vulnerable and runs the risk of having to shut down because of expenses incurred.

Does Your Small Business Need Cyber Insurance?

As a small business, you may think cybercrimes only happen to larger companies, or that the data you store isn’t important enough for an attack. But you’re wrong. Small Business Trends states that in 2016:

• 43% of cyber attacks were aimed at small business.
• 60% of small companies go out of business within the six months after the event.

Small businesses typically store customer information the “bad guys” are interested in including:

• Email addresses
• Phone numbers
• Billing addresses

Also, keep in mind that a certain number of security breaches are accidently made by employees.

After You Are Breached or Attacked

The after-affects of a cyber attack are expensive. A National Small Business Association survey found that the average cost of a small business cyber attack is almost $9,000.

Expenses include:

• You have to bring in experts to make sure you get lost data back and put data safely out of reach by hackers going forward.
• New computers and equipment have to be purchased.
• Productivity is hindered.
• Customers must be made aware of the breach, and there can be compensation costs involved.

Why Your Small Business Probably Needs Cyber Liability Insurance

Besides being smart about protecting your online data, you should be prepared for an attack with a cyber insurance. Your business liability insurance alone isn’t comprehensive enough to cover all the costs.

Some insurance providers customize policies to your needs, so you can choose the level of coverage and payouts.

A cyber liability policy covers costs such as:

• Legal fees
• Customer notification
• Investigating the incident
• Identity recovery
• Restoring data
• Computer repairs
• Ensuring your system is safe
• Downtime

Play it safe and make sure your business doesn’t go under due to a cyber attack. Find out more about cyber insurance and explore your coverage options on EInsurance.com.