Cyber security insurance is a relatively new insurance product that has probably become more popular and important in today’s digital age. Think about it. Almost everything is created, transmitted, shared, and stored digitally. Companies utilize cloud-based platforms to store documents, share documents, and transmit documents. Documents are transmitted via e-mail. Documents are created electronically with various software programs. And, finally, technology has made it convenient to create, access, store, share, and transmit documentation digitally through smartphones, tablets, or laptops (and various applications) – so technology enables things to be done remotely in the moment to maximize efficiency and production.
I recently did a presentation relating to design professional’s liability exposure in today’s digital age that includes more collaborative and sophisticated project delivery methods. One of the topics mentioned was, of course, cyber security insurance as a means to insure an important risk for design professionals (particularly, engineering and architectural firms). Depending on the insurer, cyber security insurance can be added as an endorsement to a professional liability / errors and omissions policy.
From a design professional’s standpoint, there are numerous reasons to consider this insurance based on how documentation is created, stored, and transmitted and it is an insurance product that should NOT be overlooked:
- Losses due to the mismanagement or failure to protect confidential business information and proprietary information the design professional receives;
- Losses due to inadvertently transmitting malware (a virus) through digital transmission;
- Data breaches (or theft) and the losses and costs associated with such breaches including the response, restoration, and remediation of the breach (which can be costly); and
- Losses due to violating any laws/regulations relating to a data breach.
Notably, cyber security insurance is becoming an important insurance product for many, many industries. Design Professionals, for purposes of this article, would be remiss not to explore and seriously consider cyber security insurance in today’s digital age. As a design professional, consult your insurance broker as there are insurers that are insuring this important risk based on your business’ needs.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.