Small business owners are used to solving problems. A broken piece of equipment, a customer issue, a delayed shipment. You deal with it and keep moving.
But some problems aren’t as visible.
Today’s businesses depend on email, software, electronic payments, customer information and online systems more than ever. That makes cybersecurity part of doing business.
During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it’s worth spending a few minutes thinking about what that means for your insurance.
What happens if your systems go down?
That’s a good place to start.
Imagine coming into work and discovering that you can’t access your email, customer information or an important business system.
Who would you call? How would you keep operating? And what costs could your business face?
Cyber insurance is designed to address certain financial consequences associated with covered cyber events.
Depending on the policy, those could include costs associated with investigation, data or system restoration, customer notification, incident response and certain liability claims.
Are small businesses really at risk?
CISA specifically warns businesses not to assume they are too small to be targeted.
But cyber risk isn’t only about whether someone deliberately targets your particular company.
What matters from an insurance perspective is understanding how dependent your business is on its technology and data, what could happen if it’s disrupted and what protection you have in place.
Prevention matters, too
Insurance should be part of a broader plan.
CISA recommends phishing awareness, strong passwords, multifactor authentication and regular software updates as four foundational steps organizations can take.
It also provides no-cost cybersecurity resources specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
Where does cyber insurance fit?
That’s different for every business.
The building contractor, retailer, professional office and local manufacturer don’t necessarily have the same risks or need the same coverage.
At Noyes Insurance, we believe the right place to start is to understand your business. From there, we can help you review your current coverage, identify potential gaps and determine whether cyber insurance makes sense.
Technology may have changed the risks businesses face. Good insurance advice still starts with a conversation.