Cyber Risk – It’s Time for Businesses to Take Another Look

Many of us took note of the CrowdStrike outage that affected numerous businesses and governments back in July this year. The situation really did highlight just how reliant we are on big technology. Governments, airports, airlines, and many businesses were all impacted as the outage prevented access to Windows systems. It was unsettling to witness the widespread effects of an issue initially caused by one company’s cybersecurity role, which then spread globally, affecting certain core services.

Related cyber claims from this event are still being assessed, with cyber analysts, IT experts, brokerage firms, and insurers continuing to publish reports on its impact.

CrowdStrike have of course reacted quickly to address the issues and fix the technical glitch, enabling businesses to recover relatively swiftly. However, CrowdStrike now faces legal action from both its shareholders and Delta Airlines. Additionally, US lawmakers have called on CEO George Kurtz to testify before Congress.

Insurers worldwide are still evaluating thousands of claims related to cyber policies, business interruption (BI), travel, and event cancellation coverages.

Cyber Risk

Not all Cyber policies are built the same way and certain policies will trigger coverage. If system damage is evident, most cyber policies will trigger to pay costs associated with retrieving and repairing computer records. Business Interruption is another important aspect to Cyber coverage and should be included with your Cyber Risk policy.

Coverage points, policy limits, policy extensions, and excesses should all be carefully assessed alongside your AIB advisers before choosing a cyber-risk policy. In general, cyber policies cover losses from viruses and hackers to employee error and system damage. Your business can be exposed to a range of risks that can impact you financially, affect your customers, and damage your reputation.

Below is an example from one insurer offering cyber risk insurance and the key benefits expected from a cyber policy:

Source: NZI Insurance

We always recommend comprehensive cyber cover, including a social engineering fraud extension.

Please talk to your AIB Insurance adviser about your Cyber Risk needs and how we can support you with Cyber Insurance—it’s a conversation worth having for any business. If you would like to inquire further, please contact us at [email protected].