The direct and indirect costs of a data breach could have significantly adverse impacts on a company, Gallagher Bassett (GB) warns.
Gerard Ward, GB New Zealand’s head of cyber services, said many of the costs and risks could be covered by a cyber insurance policy.
“Cyber insurance claims are highly technical; therefore, an insured wants to make sure that the loss adjuster appointed has the requisite skills to assist with speedy resolutions,” he said.
Ward stated that a New Zealand company distributing products online is very likely to have customers in Australia. If those customers are individuals, the company is almost certainly collecting personal information about those customers, which might need to be retained, and need to be protected.
Last week, New Zealand insurer Delta Insurance released a white paper on cyber insurance, and reasons why brokers should be encouraging their clients to purchase such policies. Delta’s research showed that New Zealand was behind Australia in cyber insurance uptake, with one reason being its geographic isolation that has, for many years, protected us from other dangers.
Delta co-founder Ian Pollard said the white paper would be of interest to a lot of brokers who were “grappling with cyber risks and how that is changing.”
The paper referenced the fact that ransomware generates $1 billion per year for cyber criminals, which has increased 167 times year-on-year for the last three years.
GB, a third-party claims administrator, manages claims on behalf of insurers, brokers and government bodies.
