Insurance Agent Liability: The Best Methods to Sell Cyber Security

Insurance Agent Liability: The Best Methods to Sell Cyber Security

Every day, insurance agents such as yourself are tasked with selling the right policies to your clients. You are responsible for determining what coverages are necessary and helping your customers to make the most informed choice possible. One product that seems to be ever challenging for agents and brokers to sell their customers is Cyber Security. Back in 2013, we talked about some of the common myths about cyber risk insurance; one of them being that business owners don’t need it because they are already covered by Professional Liability and General Liability.

Assuming that they have coverage to protect them from a data security breach is a dangerous mistake for business owners to make. Their standard policies are not enough to cover against threats and losses such as invasion of privacy, data tampering, business interruption, or cyber terrorism or extortion. Being armed with this knowledge is imperative, but the key to selling this product to your clients is using the right methods, while still keeping your insurance agent liability exposures in mind.

Method #1

Use concrete facts and statistics to express the need for cyber security coverage. For example, you could cite the recent cyber incident with Target, and review what could have been done differently and what problems they are still facing due to the breach.

Method #2

Understand the policy you are offering and review it with your client. It’s important, for both your reputation as an agent and to reduce your insurance agent liability risks, to be very well acquainted with the coverage terms and conditions in the cyber policy from your carriers. Be sure to read through an application in order to accurately convey the value your clients will receive.

Method #3

Introduce the policy as a risk management strategy. Help your clients build an infrastructure and process to preclude the more common causes of cyber loss. These might include factors such as the use of thumb drives, locks on server room doors limiting access, IT audits and testing data systems, and firewalls. While these won’t completely eliminate the chance of a cyber-attack occurring, it may reduce their risk.

At PLRisk Advisors, we understand that all industries and companies could face the risk of a privacy or network security breach. Our Privacy & Network Security coverage is the solution to helping your customers manage and protect against risk. Please contact us today at (855) 403-5982 for more information.