The Expert Podcast

So depending upon what business you're in or what industry you have as a profession, you may not have heard about cyber insurance too much. I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase. It's insurance that covers losses that have to do with technological things like hacking, ransomware, and that kind of thing. But you probably don't think of it as the primary type of insurance that a business would have.

However, according to many industry experts, cyber insurance is going to be the leading type of insurance in the future. In fact, most of the activities for businesses will be more cyber than they are physical. Every business has coverage such as liability insurance, professional insurance, E&O insurance, and other types of commercial lines coverage. In the future, cyber insurance may be the primary coverage, and other types may be endorsements on a cyber policy. According to this article, it will become more ubiquitous and vital to having a business. In fact, it will likely eventually become as much of a coverage as professional liability or public liability.

It may seem like a niche market now or a small segment or an add-on coverage, but think about your business. Most of what you do is online, whether it's email, customer orders, vendor communications—everything is electronic or online or remote access electronically. All of that is cyber activity. And whether somebody hacks you, your computers go down, or you have some loss of electronic data, that type of loss may be more catastrophic than a fire burning down your business or even a physical injury inside your company.

So think about cyber liability insurance as your company matures. Take a look at what coverages are available. Even if you don't need it today, having some knowledge about what it covers in the industry will help you make a more informed decision when that time comes. Whether it's a year, two, or three, when you need this coverage, if you've already done some research and watched how the market evolves, you'll be in a better place to buy it intelligently rather than it being a new subject for you.