Unfortunately, the sad truth is that in today’s world businesses of all sizes are exposed to cyber-crime. In fact, figures suggest that almost half of small businesses suffered a cyber-attack or breach in the last year.
Falling victim to a cyber-attack can cause significant disruption to your business. It can also have a substantial financial impact. Imagine if you were unable to function because of a system or network failure caused by an attack. Or you were facing regulatory scrutiny and fines for a data loss.
Despite the risks, it is thought that as many as 89% of UK businesses do not currently have a specific cyber liability insurance policy in place.
If your vaping business doesn’t currently have a cyber liability insurance policy in place, you could be vulnerable if you became the target of a cyber-attack.
What is cyber liability insurance?
Cyber liability insurance is insurance designed to protect your IT systems and networks, particularly if the data you hold is damaged or lost. This could happen if you were to suffer a data breach or a cyber hack or attack.
The Association of British Insurers has revealed that, for ABI member cyber insurance policies, 99% of the claims made in 2018 were accepted and paid out. However, take up of the cover is still very low.
What types of risk does cyber liability insurance cover?
Cyber insurance will typically provide financial compensation to cover the impact of a cyber-attack. This might include business downtime, system damage and reputational impact. It also aims to provide you with expert support and assistance in dealing with a cyber-attack, which could be very reassuring if an attack happened.
Cyber liability insurance policies will vary from insurer to insurer but typically the risks they will cover include:
- The costs of undertaking investigations into causes of the attack as well as identifying where fixes are required to restore security
- Costs associated with providing legal and communications services following an attack or breach
- If your business is held to ransom, cyber insurance can cover the ransom costs as well as support in managing the situation
- Business interruption associated with the effects of a cyber attack
- Reputational damage and assistance with crisis containment
- Cover to repair damage caused to your systems by a cyber hack
- Costs of regulatory investigations which may arise from data losses
- Compensation claims which may arise from customer data loss
Does my vaping business need cyber liability insurance?
At Anthony Jones, we encourage all of our customers who rely on IT systems and store data, to protect their business with cyber liability insurance.
But you should certainly consider taking out a policy if your vaping business:
- Holds sensitive customer data – names, addresses etc
- Processes card payments
- Use IT systems to run your business
- Have a website upon which you rely for business success
Don’t think that just because you operate a small business you are not at risk of cyber-crime. Figures suggest that in fact, small businesses are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals.
Why is cyber liability insurance so important?
The risk of cyber-crime isn’t one that is going away. The types of cyber-attack launched become more sophisticated every day. And with businesses of all sizes at risk it isn’t something that you should overlook.
Cyber-crime is big business. With that comes a high cost to businesses who fall victim to the cyber criminals. Government figures suggest the average cost of a cyber breach is £65k-£115k for SME’s. Could you cover such high costs and still maintain your business operations? The impact could be even more significant if coupled with reputational damage or customers going elsewhere if you have to close your business down for a period of time.
Cyber insurance can provide a valuable safety net in the event that a cyber incident does occur.
The ABI offer a comprehensive guide to cyber liability insurance for SME’s which may be worth referring to if you are considering cover for your vaping business. Or you can talk to us at Anthony Jones about your needs. We work hard with all of our customers to understand their business and insurance needs so that an adequate level of cyber liability insurance cover can be put in place to protect you if an attack should happen. Get in touch by calling 0208 290 9080 or email us at ecig@anthonyjones.com.