Online businesses are obvious buffets of data in the hungry eyes of cyber criminals but it’s important to recognise that cyber thugs have designs on bricks-and-mortar businesses too.
If you run a small physical business, odds are still pretty good you at least have a CRM, inventory system, platform for e-commerce or a basic landing page with contact details and opening hours.
In fact, 95 per cent of Australian businesses are reported to have access to the internet and more than half have a website.
Let’s not forget, either, that 516,380 Australian SMBs were victims of a cyber attack in 2017, according to Norton.
Your cybersecurity systems, networks and platforms are imperative to the protection of your small business but you can take things further still with cyber insurance. Cybersecurity isn’t fallible, so it’s therefore important to consider the extra protection you can benefit from with cyber insurance coverage.
Cyber insurance to protect what?
Cyber attacks can be costly to your business in many ways. It’s a $1 billion problem annually for Australian businesses. There are often-flatlining financial consequences attached to paying for ransoms, IT solutions, system repairs, legal claims and your customers’ or clients’ losses but it doesn’t end there. Cyber attackers can destroy your intellectual property and trash your company’s public image too.
Coverage matched to your needs
Cyber insurance can be a lifeline in these adverse scenarios but you’ll need to consider which coverage best suits your needs. To do so, you can benefit from undertaking cyber risk assessment that will identify the information your business holds and the risks associated with having stewardship of this information.
You can also ask a specialist cyber insurance provider how their policies address particular risks your business runs with regards to its data protection. It’s also a good idea to give consideration to factors such as the structural value of your physical business, what would it cost your business to close for a week and how many staff members work in your company.
It’s also good to educate yourself in advance of a consultation with a cyber insurance provider about how cyber insurance policies can offer protection across a range of areas including third party liability, event recovery costs, business interruption loss, threat or extortion costs and emergency and expert response costs.
Ensuring benefits dwarf the costs
The quote you receive for cyber insurance will be dependent on the needs of your business. With average premiums for SMBs usually in the range of $2,000 – $3,000 annually, there is research to indicate that the majority of businesses who take out cyber insurance consider their premiums reasonable in light of their risk.
Simplifying the application process
Many small businesses who intend to take out cyber insurance nevertheless stall the process of getting a quote and purchasing insurance can be demanding.
It’s a concern that should be diminishing in 2018 however. Specialist cyber insurance providers such as Edmund Insurance are emerging with user-friendly digital platforms that consumers can use to painlessly obtain quotes or quickly purchase insurance policies.
As cyber insurance providers become more user-friendly, their appeal becomes more obvious too. In today’s climate of cybercrime, that’s good for SMBs to know.
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