Cyber crime is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics affecting not only accountants, but all businesses and individuals in the community. Entities that have suffered a breach of their clients’ information, such as compromised tax file numbers, phone numbers or other private information will soon be required by law to notify the regulatory authorities and the individual clients. If sufficient measures such as cyber insurance are not implemented, it could lead to detrimental impacts for an accounting firm.
Here are the top questions (and answers) the team at Accountancy Insurance are asked about the protection of an accounting firm in the event of cyber crime:
How will cyber insurance help my firm?
A cyber insurance policy will assist with managing the legal obligations and getting the business up and running as quickly as possible after a cyber attack.
Won’t my professional indemnity insurance policy cover everything?
Your professional indemnity policy will cover claims made by clients and third parties who have suffered a financial loss as a result of your negligence but not if the loss is caused by a third party such as a hacker. It is restrictive in cover as it is not intended to cover cyber attacks. Other costs such as public relations, forensic investigation and other IT specialist costs that are incurred as a result of a cyber attack are also only covered by a cyber policy.
Shouldn’t cyber attacks be covered by my business interruption insurance?
In order for your business interruption policy to respond, there must be a trigger in section 1 –property damage such as fire, earthquake, however not from a cyber attack.
Accountancy Insurance’s cyber insurance will cover your accounting firm for multimedia liability, security and privacy liability, data recovery and loss of business income coverage, privacy regulatory defence costs and penalties, data extortion plus much more.
To get the facts about cyber crime, and to obtain an obligation-free cyber insurance quote for your accounting firm, please email the Accountancy Insurance Professional Risks Department on info@accountancyinsurance.com.au or phone 1300 552 867.
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