What Are the Different Types of Cyber Insurance?

Question: What are the different types of cyber insurance and why does my organization need coverage?

Isabelle Dumont, vice president of market engagement at Cowbell Cyber: Even with the best cybersecurity defenses in place, organizations can fall victim to a cyberattack. An employee clicking on a malicious email can rapidly escalate to a full-blown ransomware incident that leads to weeks of business interruption. Cyber insurance is designed to help businesses with the financial burden of returning to normal operations in the aftermath of a cyber incident.

Cyber insurance policies include different types of coverages that span first-party loss, first-party expenses, and third-party liability, each with specific parameters — sublimits, retention, and others. First-party loss typically includes loss of revenue due to business interruption, while first-party expenses would include the many services and resources needed to recover from an attack, such as forensic or system-rebuilding services. Third-party liability may cover expenses and legal fees related to the potential damage caused by the incident to third parties, such as partners, customers, or even employees whose sensitive information has been compromised.

Cyber insurance enables businesses to recover much faster by bringing expert resources immediately after the discovery of an event. Breach coaches, ransom negotiators, forensic services, and others are dedicated incident response experts who will help organize the response and accelerate recovery. Next-generation cyber insurance goes even further and makes such services available prior to any incident to reduce exposures and prevent incidents in the first place.