If you are wondering why you’d need cyber insurance, imagine this. You collect your mail one morning, only to find a letter from a lender requesting payment. However, you’ve never applied for a loan from this company. So, it has to be a mistake, right?
You call the company to find out what’s going on. Their collections department informs you that a few weeks earlier, a loan was taken out under your name and social security number. All the details are correct — except you didn’t do it. And you suddenly realize that you’ve become the victim of a cybercriminal. Someone has stolen your personal data and used it for his or her own purposes.
The Increased Need for Protection
As technology becomes increasingly integrated with our lives, our personal information is more and more at risk. If you use an online bank or health portal, or an accounting or tax filing platform, your data is out of your hands. Everything from your social security number and date of birth to your income and health issues becomes vulnerable in the event of a security breach. If you store any personal documents on your own computer, tablet or phone — or in the cloud — the same applies.
What’s more: With the growing adoption of smart homes, cybercriminals can even spy on you at home. Some unscrupulous individuals use the information they’ve gathered this way to blackmail their victims.
Cyber Insurance for Individuals
Fortunately, some insurance companies are now offering cyber insurance for individuals — sometimes referred to as “personal cyber.”
Personal cyber insurance provides coverage for the financial losses and costs associated with the theft of digital assets and data up to your policy’s limits. As NerdWallet points out, it’s usually offered in the form of a rider that’s added to another policy such as renters or homeowners insurance.
Reasons You Need Personal Cyber Insurance
If you’re thinking, “I have good security software, so I don’t need personal cyber insurance, think again.” Cybercriminals have become sophisticated and keep developing new ways to attack. While security software companies try to stay ahead of them, it’s not always possible. Moreover, if you forget to update your antivirus or firewall just one time, it could give a hacker an in.
And once a cybercriminal finds his or her way into your network, the results can be devastating:
- Malware or spyware can infect your devices
- Personal data can be stolen and used for identity theft and fraud
- Devices can be locked down and held to ransom
- Your children — or you — could become the victim of cyberbullying
What Personal Cyber Covers
ValuePenguin advises than in general, cyber insurance provides three types of coverage:
- Coverage for financial loss from fraud as a result of a cyber event. This includes stolen bank funds, identity thefts and the fraudulent use of credit cards, amongst other things.
- Coverage for cyber extortion, including the financial losses resulting from any payments you make. It also includes the costs of an investigation to find out how the event happened so you can prevent it in the future.
- Personal and home protection coverage. This includes the financial repercussions of cyberbullying. It also includes attacks against your home and the costs associated with remedying the issues.
How to Get Personal Cyber Coverage
As always when purchasing any type of coverage, we advise to speak with your trusted insurance broker who can offer advice tailored to your specific situation. For more information, please contact us today. Our team at Grand Mutual Insurance dedicates themselves to providing you with the absolute best insurance options for every aspect of your life.
Sources
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/personal-cyber-insurance/
https://insurancemarketsource.com/personal/personal-cyber-insurance/
