Cyber “Intrusions” Put your Business at Risk – Part One

By Alan Long

As our technology-driven world continues to evolve and businesses increasingly rely on electronic communication and data storage, we are seeing an alarming increase in the number of cyber “intrusions.” These include data theft and identify theft, and computer system malfunctions. Unauthorized intrusions could endanger a business’s tangible and intangible assets and, in many cases, could damage their reputation and ability to conduct business.

Many policyholders are surprised to learn that their standard general liability and/or professional liability insurance policies likely will NOT apply to a technology or cyber privacy claim. While businesses and their insurance brokers are usually knowledgeable about insurance policies covering the traditional “exposures,” today’s online society presents a whole new set of risks that traditional policies were not designed to cover.

The insurance industry has been slow to respond to the growing needs in this arena. However, a number of technology and cyber products are being developed by the industry to address the evolving needs of our clients
in today’s world. In our next newsletter we will look closer at some of the exposures and products available to meet this growing need.

• Read all INSURANCE CURRENTS, Fall 2011