If you were to fall victim to a phishing email, would you know what to do? 

If your client data was held at ransom, do you have someone to turn to? 

Unfortunately, cyber incidents are continuing to increase each year but cyber insurance could help in the event that you’re a target.

Are you a target?

No one is immune to a cyber incident, as we’ve seen with several publicised attacks over the past two years, and small to medium businesses are often considered an easy target.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Annual Cyber Threat Report, July 2021 to June 2022, the Australian Cyber Security Centre saw more than 76,000 cybercrime reports between 2021 and 2022. 

This is an increase of close to 13 per cent from the previous financial year. 

Of these, medium-sized businesses reported the highest average loss per cybersecurity incident at $88,000. The health sector was also a key target. 

Outside government sectors, the healthcare and social assistance sectors reported the highest number of cybersecurity incidents in Australia. 

Nearly 80 per cent of the 76,000 cybercrime reports came from Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

Can cyber insurance help?

The damage from a cyber attack can be far-reaching, especially if you don’t know who to contact, what to do when it happens or how to manage the potential costs. 

These are decisions that you don’t want to make on the fly. This is where cyber insurance could help.

Cyber insurance can help provide cover for financial loss suffered as a result of a cyber-related incident. This could include:

•    civil liability from third parties whose data has been compromised
•    public relations and crisis management expenses
•    your costs in rectifying the damage to your systems
•    loss of income due to an interruption to your operations resulting from the breach.

Inclusions and coverage will differ between product offerings so it’s important to carefully review the policy wording for the policy you’re considering.

Why consider cyber insurance?

There are many reasons why you might consider cyber insurance, from covering costs incurred to uphold your reputation to covering the associated costs of recovering your data. 

A cyber incident can happen to anyone and can be initiated by simply misinterpreting a phishing email. 

While cyber insurance can’t stop a cyber incident from happening, it can mean you have access to a team of professionals if one does occur.

BMS, the APA’s insurance partner, offers comprehensive cyber liability insurance. Cover may include:

•    business interruption
•    website media content liability
•    breach notification
•    costs to restore your data
•    third-party claims against you.

Contact BMS on 1800 931 068 or at apa@bmsgroup.com for more information.

Disclaimer: You must be a current APA member to be eligible for the APA member insurance program. You must be part of the APA member insurance program in order to access additional cover. If your membership ceases you will not be offered renewal when your policy expires. In arranging this insurance for our members, APA is acting as a distributor of BMS Risk Solutions Pty Ltd (BMS) AFSL 461594, ABN 45161187980. This insurance is issued by BMS under a binder with Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s. When acting under a binder BMS is acting as agent for the insurer and not as your agent. This is general advice only and BMS has not considered whether it is suitable for your particular objectives, needs or financial situation. Please read the Policy Wording and the BMS Terms of Engagement, which contains the Financial Services Guide, before making a decision about purchasing this policy. APA may receive a percentage of the commission paid to BMS by the insurer and/or a fee per policy.