What is cyber coverage?

By Dani Sheehan. 

When it comes to cyber security, keep the experts in your corner by investing in a cyber liability insurance policy and rest assured your company will be covered in the event of a threat.  

In an increasingly digital world, cyber security is more important than ever. Invisible threats are constantly lurking in the background, ready to strike the moment your business lets its guard down. Hopefully you have cyber liability for your company already, but how well do you understand your coverage or how to handle a breach without compromising data? Recently, RCS influencer Seth Pietsch, president of Integrity Insurance and Bonding Inc., brought a presentation to the Oregon Council of National Women in Roofing (NWiR) to discuss cyber coverage for the roofing industry. He helps explain cyber liability and how to keep your business safe in the event of a security breach. 

According to Seth, cyber liability policies are often underutilized, or companies don’t have coverage at all. However, they are incredibly important, particularly if there is a security event. Seth explains, “[Without cyber liability], if you did have a cybersecurity breach and customers’ or employee information was compromised, there’s a whole process which is regulated by authorities that you have to send out notifications to the people that might’ve had their data compromised. There’s a whole process that needs to be followed.”  

Your company is required to follow the appropriate protocol, but it can be really hard to find the steps that need to be taken and in what order. He continues, “With having a cyber liability policy, what it does is it breaks out the steps, in sync of what needs to be done to notify whoever had their data compromised.” Having a policy allows you access to a company that specializes in the notification process and works with you to safeguard your company’s actions after the breach has occurred. 

Cyber liability policies are ever evolving because cyber criminals are constantly coming up with new and more sophisticated ways to hack into your system. Particularly within the roofing industry, Seth talks about some of the common cyber threats a policy might cover. “We’ve talked about if an employee or customers’ information gets compromised. You get coverage for your websites. Ransomware, phishing, which is not your typical fishing for fish in a river, it’s phishing for faulty fraudulent wire transfers, stuff like that, or hacking into your server.” 

Seth’s key takeaway is this: “Don’t consider your IT company your sole defending force against a cyber-attack.” It’s worth the investment for added protection to ensure your business can appropriately address a cyber threat (and hopefully will never need to!). 

Learn more about cyber liability policies and how Integrity Insurance can add protection and peace of mind to your business.