Cyber insurance for self-employed workers.

CYBER INSURANCE FOR INDEPENDENT WORKERS

In 2019, U.S. companies lost $3.5 billion due to cyber crime. Considering 43% of cyber attacks are targeted at small businesses, it’s in your best interest to consider a policy.

Within the Internet of Things, you can’t always control who has access to your data and who doesn’t. Yes, that includes the personal information your business collects, stores, or sends. It’s true that you can implement safeguards to protect confidential data, but hackers might still be able to sneak in. The one thing you can control is whether or not your business is prepared for cyber risks. Entrepreneurs and self-employed workers can benefit greatly from cyber insurance.

HOW MUCH DOES CYBER INSURANCE COST?

All companies are unique, which means that their cyber insurance premiums are, too. Premiums are calculated according to your business’ specific needs. In order to get a quote, you’ll typically need to provide information about the following:

• Number of customers, clients, or patients
• Number of employees
• Type of data and information you receive, manage, store, and send
• Business’ annual revenue
• Claims history

Generally speaking, the more people and data points you are handling, the higher your premium may be. It all depends on the above factors, though. You’ll need to request a quote to know how much you can expect to pay for cyber insurance coverage.

WHAT IS CYBER INSURANCE?

Cyber insurance can help protect businesses and independent contractors from technology-related risks, such as data breaches and hacking. It is meant to help protect the business if sensitive information that many businesses deal with every day is hacked, whether that is customers’ personal medical records or credit card information.

There are two main types of cyber insurance — data breach insurance and cyber liability insurance. They can combine to help provide robust coverage.

WHAT IS DATA BREACH INSURANCE?

To protect personal information, specifically personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI), data breach insurance is your go-to. Data breaches involve the exposure of personal information and can happen in a number of ways. Maybe a hacker breaks into your network, or perhaps an employee accidentally opens an email with a virus that exposes confidential information. Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.

Data breach insurance may help cover costs, such as notifying all customers, patients, or employees who have been affected by a breach. The coverage can also help with hiring a public relations firm to handle the situation and with offering credit monitoring services to data breach victims.

WHAT IS CYBER LIABILITY INSURANCE?

Cyber liability insurance helps cover your business after a cyberattack or internet-related threat. It is used as a response to a data security incident, and it may help cover legal services, lost income, and lawsuits that emerge because of the cyberattack or other security issue.

DO I NEED CYBER INSURANCE FOR MY TECH COMPANY AS AN ENTREPRENEUR OR FREELANCER?

No one is immune to hackers. They can target and extract personal information on any of your business’ computers. Even if you are an entrepreneur operating a new tech startup, you are at risk.

If you’re still wondering whether or not cyber insurance is right for your business, here are some questions. If you answer any of them affirmatively, cyber insurance could be helpful for you.

• Do you collect, store, send, or receive PII or PHI?
• Are there laws and regulations about customer information within your industry?
• Are you unsure what you would do if your business experienced a cyberattack?

Cyber insurance helps you spring into action and respond quickly in the event of a breach or cyberattack. It helps cover your bases so that if anything happens, your company experiences as little damage as possible. It can be used to help cover loss of income, notification of the breach, and credit monitoring.