Your phone pings. You open up your email and read a stern notification from your bank. Your account, it appears, has been hacked. Someone has not only your bank account information, but your credit card numbers, social security number, and other personal data. Now they’ve started wreaking havoc on your credit.
What could you have done to prevent this disaster from unfolding? Aside from using password managers to tighten up your digital security, cyber insurance, also known as cyber liability insurance (CLI) could help you restore your identity, recover your personal data, and repair your computer networks. Here’s what you should know about cyber insurance, how it can help you protect yourself from identity theft, and why you should consider getting it.
What Cyber Insurance Is
Cyber insurance covers people and businesses in the event they suffer a data breach. The insurance company investigates the breach, checks what the cyber thieves bought and when, manages any communication related to the breach, and provides attorney and fees. It covers you against loss if you’re extorted or if your intellectual property gets stolen.
In addition to these important protections, cyber insurance can include data compromise protection and identity recovery protection. These forms of coverage provide credit monitoring, identity fraud restoration, and data restoration.
Why You Should Consider Getting Cyber Insurance
If you’re a business owner, a data breach is one of the single most embarrassing moments of your entrepreneurial career. Not only are your business’ private documents exposed, but your customers’ personal data is also fair game for hackers to use. You risk damaging your reputation and negatively impacting your customers’ finances.
For business owners, cyber insurance effectively contains the damage before it spreads. It gives you a chance to restore your customers’ data and keep your business running.
If you’re an individual, the scariest consequence of a data breach is identity theft. Identity theft immediately affect your finances and credit, and threatens your long-term financial security. Cyber thieves can use your personal data to apply for lines of credit, pay for medical bills, and purchase whatever they’d like. Cyber insurance and identity theft insurance can help you mitigate the effects of identity theft and restore your identity.
What to Do If Your Identity Is Stolen
If someone steals your personal information, report it immediately. The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you go to IdentityTheft.gov. It’s an online resource that helps you develop a data recovery plan. The FTC also suggests you contact any companies where you think the fraud might have occurred, put a fraud alert on your credit report, report your identity theft directly to the FTC Complaint Assistant, and then file a police report.
How You Can Protect Yourself from Identify Theft
The two most effective ways to prevent identity theft are to improve your digital security and to purchase identity theft insurance. Freeway Insurance offers identity theft protection, which covers everything from certified mail to stolen checks. To get a quote, call us today at (800) 777-5620.
To learn more about how you can prevent identity theft, visit USA.gov’s Identity Theft page.
