By: Mark White, UPS
Every day, it seems some large, national company has its sensitive information hacked. Of course, those are just the ones that make headlines. Nearly two-thirds of cyber breach victims are small to mid-sized businesses.(1) What’s more, 55% of smaller businesses reported at least one data breach in the previous year.(2)
Small Business. Big Impact
While large companies are typically equipped to handle a cybercrime event, small and mid-sized companies usually are not, making them an even more desirable target.
Consider this: for smaller businesses, the worst cyber breaches cost between $84,000 to $148,000.(3) Just the cost of notifying customers of a breach can cause a company irreparable harm. In fact, 60% of smaller businesses are out of business within six months of suffering a cyberattack.(2)
Hoping it Won’t Happen Isn’t the Best Risk-Mitigation Strategy
Here’s the most surprising stat: nearly 90% of small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. don’t use data protection for company and customer information. Less than half have secure company email processes to prevent phishing scams.(3) What’s more, many businesses simply assume their business owner’s policy (BOP) covers them.
As companies adopt more digital technologies, cybercrime will become even more pervasive. A cyber liability insurance policy can help you mitigate your risk, giving you one less thing to worry about.
Consider adding a policy
Policies like the UPS Capital cyber liability insurance from UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc. provide broad coverage and include full policy limits for both first- and third-party cyber liability coverage.*
With this type of plan, first-party coverage includes public relations, forensics investigation, business interruption protection, paying cyber extortionists, breach notification meetings, call center support, credit monitoring and regulatory defense. Additionally, it includes a 24-hour data breach hotline, voluntary notification to customers, even if not required by law, coverage for the insured’s websites, social media and other digital media and vetted vendors who can manage the complexities of a breach and the third-party coverage includes lawsuits from affected individuals or others.
Cybercrime and its related threats are not going to disappear, but will only grow more frequent. Facing the possibility of cybercrime can be intimidating, but being prepared to handle a cybercrime event can be the difference between staying afloat and going out of business.
Related resources
(1) PropertyCasualty360.com, 5/27/2015.
(2) Champlain College, Graduate Studies, 2017; “Internet priivacy in the digital age.”
(3) The Guardian (U.S. edition) 1/21/15.
*Coverage is available in all states except Vermont and New York.