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Cyber Insurance vs Data Breach Response: How They Differ

by Trava, Cyber Risk Management

Cyber insurance and data breach response can help protect your sensitive data from cyberattacks. Learn how they differ and why you need both.

Safety and security are two of the top concerns for all business leaders in today's complex and rapidly changing world. If you want to stay safe out there (as we all do), then you need to know about cyber insurance and data breach response. Both of these processes can help you lock down your sensitive data and keep you safer than you otherwise would have been. Importantly, these options are not identical to one another. They may sound similar, but it is vital to distinguish between the two when you are trying to figure out how to best approach the subject of data security.

What Is Cyber Insurance?

You purchase insurance to cover the important things in your life such as your automobile, your health, and your assets. Add your cyber security to that list. There are plenty of reasons to want to keep your electronic data safe and secure. If you don't have adequate protection for this valuable data, then you might suffer a major financial loss if criminals get into the system and steal your data. Cyber insurance helps you recoup what you otherwise might have lost.

There are two important types of coverage to look at within the realm of cyber insurance. They are first-party coverage and third-party coverage. It is important to understand the differences between the two. With first-party coverage, you get protection over the following:

  • The cost of an investigation

  • Lost revenue costs

  • Damaged equipment cost

Your cyber insurance policy covers all of these. It is important that you speak with the insurance company that you partner with. This is to ensure you receive all of the coverage that you require under your policy.

Third-party coverage is an additional type of cyber insurance that you can look into if you think that it might prove useful to you. With this type of coverage, you gain protection over:

  • The cost of attorney's fees

  • Settlements or judgments against you

  • Regulatory fines that you may incur

All of these things can stack up against you rather rapidly and make it challenging to just get by financially. Instead of suffering like that, consider taking out an insurance policy. It will keep you covered and protected no matter what happens.

Want to learn more? We have a podcast episode that does a deep dive into cyber insurance.

What Is Data Breach Response?

Anytime a data breach occurs, it is the responsibility of the company that has been breached to react to what has happened. This means having a plan ready to go is an essential part of the work that many companies must commit themselves to. Techtarget.com provides a useful definition of how a data breach response plan works:

A data breach response plan is a document outlining how an organization will respond in the event of a data breach. It outlines what constitutes a cybersecurity and information security incident, who is involved in the plan and their contact information, and steps to take in a breach and follow-up actions.

You don't want to get caught flat-footed when you are attempting to respond to a threat to the integrity of your electronic systems. It happens more often than people like to believe. You can prevent it from getting much worse by taking the time to have a plan ready.

How the Two Compliment Each Other

The best plan is to have both a cyber insurance policy as well as a data breach response plan. When you combine the two, you are able to both respond to potential incidents. You can also have insurance at the ready for when something potentially goes wrong. In other words, you have a backup plan of sorts at the ready in case you end up in a scenario where your information is compromised.

Cost Considerations

There is no doubt that you must always consider the costs associated with taking on anything of this nature. Every cyber insurance policy is unique, and there is no guarantee that you will receive the same price as someone else. However, the typical cyber insurance policy has been measured as coming in at about $1,500 per year. That is money well spent when you think about the peace of mind that such a policy can bring to your life. Don't miss out on the chance to nab a policy for yourself today.

The cost of setting up a data breach response plan depends on how elaborate your plan is. You want to prepare for all potential disasters that might befall your company. Don't get overly concerned about the cost of a plan like this unless you feel like it starts to get out of control.

Ultimately, you can work on building up your defenses against malicious actors. Take our cyber insurance policy and create a data breach response plan. Trava can assist you with the cyber security protections that you need today. We are standing by to provide you with the assistance you require whenever you need it.

Questions?

We can help!  Talk to the Trava Team and see how we can assist you with your cybersecurity needs.