You have one or more Cyber Insurance proposals – what is next? How do you compare multiple proposals? What should you look for? There is no right answer, and different organizations will have different needs. But here are a few areas to focus on.
Price
Price is important, but Cyber Insurance policies are not all the same, and the least expensive proposal may or may not offer the best coverage. Focus on coverage first, price second. We can help make the right policy affordable by offering financing.
Referral
A referral is when an underwriter wants to look at an application in more detail relative to their underwriting guidelines. In many cases you will receive a pricing after the underwriter review, though in other cases an underwriter may decline to provide a proposal or request additional information.
Your Exposures & Coverage Needs
First, what exposures do you have, and what coverage is most important to you? Do you have unique data, such as health care information? Are you subject to specific industry regulation, such as HIPAA or New York’s Financial Services Companies Cybersecurity Requirements? Could your operation be impaired by a ransomware attack? Are you at risk of deceptive funds theft (fraudulent funds transfers)? The answers to these questions will help inform the most critical Cyber coverages.
Limit
The policy limit is important, but most Cyber Insurance policies have sub-limits for specific exposures and some of which may be more important for you than the policy limit.
Standalone Coverage
Do not depend on an endorsement to another policy; purchase a dedicated (standalone) Cyber Insurance policy.
Key Coverages
Leading policies provide some level of comprehensive coverage for Data Breach, Ransomware and Deceptive Funds Theft (payment fraud or fraudulent funds transfer) incidents. Review each type of coverage and confirm that the most important coverage extensions are included. For example, you might want some or all of the following:
- Does the Data Breach coverage include a reasonable limit on notification costs?
- Does the Ransomware coverage section include adequate business interruption coverage, including extra expense? Is payment of extortion expenses provided with no unreasonable restrictions?
- Is the Deceptive Funds Theft limit (policies use different names) adequate for your organization?
And, pro tip: check the exclusions in the policy to better understand what is not covered.
Risk Mitigation
Leading Cyber Insurance underwriters are incorporating cybersecurity initiatives into their offerings. Underwriters have turned to risk assessment tools such as third party scanning to better determine if customers have strong cybersecurity protections in place. These services can be valuable in protecting your organization and the offerings vary between underwriters. Some underwriters are taking proactive steps to require specific risk mitigation steps prior to binding coverage. If your proposal(s) have required risk mitigation steps, consider whether these steps are helpful, easy to implement, or too difficult.
Incident Response
Some leading Cyber Insurance underwriters have created dedicated 24/7 incident response teams separate from the claims department to respond to a cyber incident in real time. These services are valuable if you have a cyber incident. In some cases, these experts can resolve incidents quickly over the phone.
Ask the Experts
Work with a partner to achieve your ideal balance between coverage and price. eSpecialty Insurance is your specialty insurance expert. We have developed a streamlined marketplace to provide multiple proposals from a range of competitive insurers, along with expertise to help you evaluate your options.
Try our online Cyber Insurance Quoting Portal for same day quotes. We look forward to working with you!