- Jul 22, 2021
- 4 min
Cyber Liability
Between 2018 and 2020 ransomware attacks increased 486% and the healthcare industry continues to be one of the most coveted targets for these attacks due to the wealth of protected health information available in patient records.
Not If, But When
On average, a data breach costs a medical practice $499 per stolen or compromised patient record. Associated costs of breaches come from restoring your system, legal defense, patient notification, and more.
The increasing risk of a cyberattack and the ever-climbing costs associated with a breach, makes the need for comprehensive cyber coverage more dire than ever.
Professional Risk Associates can help you obtain a cyber liability policy tailored for the unique needs of a healthcare business. Please submit a Request Cyber Coverage form to be contacted by an agent.
Types of Cyberattacks
In a study published by Coalition in the first half of 2020, the insurance company broke down the leading types of cyberattacks they saw that lead to claims in the previous reporting year. See a breakdown of these attacks below by the numbers and learn more about how they are implemented.
Business Email Compromise (BEC) and phishing attacks comprised 54% of cyberattacks. BEC describes hackers gaining access to an employee's work email and then using the seemingly reliable source to exploit other employees. Phishing is slightly different, as it relies on hackers using a fraudulent email account to contact employees and trying to extrapolate sensitive information through deception.
Coverage Components
Insuring your practice from a cyberattack is pivotal in safeguarding your financial well-belling and your patient’s protected health information. You cyber liability policy should include all the following provisions:
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Patient notification & credit monitoring costs
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Legal counsel & forensic expert services
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Business interruption
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Regulatory fines & penalties
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Cyber terrorism & cyber extortion
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Data recovery costs
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Public relations & advertising support
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Call center & website support
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Bodily injury coverage
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Business interruption & cyber extortion coverage
A cyber liability policy is a must-have to protect your practice. However, the most cost-effective way to protect your data, is prevention. Preventing cyber claims is easier than you may think, here are just a few things you can implement in your practice:
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Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
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Employee Training
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Spam Filters
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Anti-Virus
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Offline Backup
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Evaluation of technology & data security practices
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Limit access to privileges
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Routine Evaluation
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Having a Worst-Case Scenario plan
To learn more about these techniques please see our blog, Preventing Cyber Claims for Medical Practices. You can also refer to this Cybersecurity Checklist for additional assistance on setting up your practice’s cyber security.
Unsure how to implement the above prevention techniques?
Here is one more reason to purchase cyber liability coverage. In addition to the coverage benefits you receive when you purchase a cyber liability policy, insured practices also gain access to valuable vendor partnerships and risk management resources such as:
- Assistance on incident response planning
-Assistance in implementing Multifactor authentication
- Employee training, compliance
- Risk scans
- Cyber experts
For additional information on these client portals please see Beazley Breach Response Portal and Tokio Marine HCC Cyber Net.
