As data breaches become more commonplace and receive more media attention, companies are protecting themselves.
While companies in Canada had been following the cyber insurance trends seen in many other countries, the insurance news headlines involving some massive data breaches including ransomware, threats and demands for payment.
With these events becoming more visible and more common, companies are turning to insurance companies.
The trend skyrocketed after the Canadian site Ashley Madison experienced a tremendous data breach that saw worldwide media coverage. To many businesses in the country, this made it all too clear that nobody is safe and that cyber insurance is a type of coverage that is worth investigating. Companies are understandably afraid of the risk of high profile data breaches, due to the damage it can cause on a vast range of levels. After one large recent attack, the first move management made – even before calling the police – was to phone the insurance company.
The cyber insurance company provided them with the guidance and resources needed to manage the situation.
According to Matthew Davies, the director of professional, media and cyber liability of that insurer, Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, “We were able to assist them by connecting them to some immediate legal expertise that would help them understand what the next step should be.”
At the same time, the firm also rehired a forensic consultant it had previously used for assistance. That consultant was able to step in to prevent damage from spreading.
The cyber liability insurance is the type of coverage that can help companies to pay for these types of problems, which can come with massively expensive cleanup services. This includes specialized IT personnel, legal and media advice and even disaster recovery services.
At the moment, the average data breach in Canada is estimated to come with a price tag of approximately $5.3 million. Now that this is becoming more widespread knowledge, companies are starting to take this threat far more seriously and are inquiring into cyber insurance to help to make certain that if it happens to them, they will not be forced to bear the brunt of the expense.
