What is personal cyber insurance?

Should Individuals Buy Personal Cyber Insurance?

Given the rise in frequency and cost of cyber crimes, individuals should consider purchasing some level of personal cyber insurance now. There aren’t recent statistics in Canada but in the USA, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 400,000 individual complaints of cybercrimes, with a total estimated cost of $3.5 billion in 2019.

There are a variety of ways cyber attacks can result in a monetary loss, ranging from the theft of bank account funds to cyber extortion. The four most popular type of attacks are malware attacks, cyber extortion, online fraud including ID Theft and Online scams such as phishing. Data Breach privacy whilst not an attack is also an exposure for individuals that hold personal data belonging to other individuals.

Cyberboxx: Home Edition is unique in the market as it also includes Equifax’s Premier ID Monitoring service. This includes Identity Theft Monitoring Cyber Event and ID restoration experts and coverage for up to $50,000 in insured losses.

What does Personal Cyber Insurance Cover?

Personal Cyber insurance is very new but broadly speaking, a personal cyber insurance policy will provide financial reimbursement for the costs associated with the theft of digital information and assets. Policies will generally cover expenses fitting under four categories: cyberbullying, cyber attack, cyber-extortion and financial loss from online fraud.

Cyberbullying

This coverage protects the policyholder against the financial consequences of personal online attacks, also called cyberbullying, or attacks on you home systems. For example, if cyberbullying results in the wrongful loss of their job, this feature would cover lost salary up to policy limits.

Cyber Attack or Hacker Damage Coverage

If a cyberattack results in people being unable to access their home or needing to replace an electronic device due to a cyber attack, the coverage will ensure they’re reimbursed for the costs associated with resolving the event.

Cyber Extortion Coverage

Cyber extortion is when online criminals threaten the release of sensitive personal data or prevent individuals’ access to their technology devices in return for a ransom. A personal cyber insurance policy reimburses individuals for payments they made under the duress of an extortion threat. It may also cover the costs of conducting an investigation to diagnose the cause of the event and help prevent such an occurrence in the future.

Online Fraud Coverage

Coverage for financial loss or fraud as a result of a cyber event can refer to a wide range of scenarios. These include identity theft, stolen bank funds or fraudulent use of credit cards or online scams. Traditionally, this type of protection has been available as part of a standalone identity-theft coverage policy or endorsement. But identity-theft coverage alone does not protect against the wider range of risks posed by cybersecurity threats.

Who do you call in a Cyber Emergency?

Facing a cyber attack can be stressful enough so finding providers to help you recover from a traumatic event can be one of the most frustrating experiences from a consumer’s standpoint. BOXX is helping remove this friction by providing its own ready-made team of providers – cyber claims calls get funnelled through to its specialist security team made up of specialist ID restoration experts provided by Equifax, legal experts and data recovery specialists. The policyholder can instigate all these services from one call to BOXX’s Hackbusters.