Cyber Insurance: can you afford to ignore it? If you’re in business, here are five reasons why you really do need cyber insurance sponsored by BUSINESS TIP Think identity theft and cyber crime can’t happen to you? Think again. Read on for reasons cyber insurance protects you, your busi- ness and your customers. 1. Everyone has and uses a computer Cyber insurance (also known as cyber liability insurance) was unheard of 15 years ago. Today, it’s as necessary as worker’s comp. If you lived in a flood plain would you not purchase flood insurance? If you rely on a computer – in any way – to run your busi- ness, you need cyber insurance. Consider what would happen if your computer was hacked, and someone gained access to the private information of all of your customers, including their credit card details? Even if you do not do credit card transactions, your data is at risk. The fallout could put any opera- tion out of business, which is especially scary given hacking is a significant and real risk. 2. You don’t have an IT depart- ment or a risk management team Big corporations can have whole departments dedicated to creating policies and action plans, which deal with potential risks, includ- ing cyber crime. If you’re a small or even a medium-sized business, chances are you don’t have a risk management team. A good cyber insurance policy bridges the gap for businesses that don’t have the luxury of a risk management team. Many car- riers offer preventive guidelines and services that will help reduce the chance of a cyber attack. In addition, they will be there to provide the necessary people and specialists and more importantly supply the funds should you have a breach. 3. Your general liability policy will not cover cyber crime Most general liability policies By Marc Rosenkrantz, Schechner-Lifson Corporation 36 TileLetter | January 2018