New Policy Offered To Cover Tech Risks
NU Online News Service, July 2, 12:42 p.m. EST?Safeonline will introduce a new policy this month for small- to medium-size firms using basic technologies whose insurance excludes technology risks, the company revealed to NU Online.
The new product, called SafeBusiness, to be offered this month, will include coverage against first-party damage to electronic data held on computer systems.
Coverage will also include liability claims for content on a company's Web site or sent in an e-mail message, according to Safeonline, with U.S. headquarters in Okemos, Mich.
According to SafeBusiness, coverage includes claims for inadvertent virus transmission as well as liability for e-mail and Instant Messages sent for non-work related purposes. Limits will be up to $1 million for third-party liability cover and up to $75,000 for first-party damage.
"The majority of smaller businesses are uninsured against their new digital risks, but the fact is they don't realize it," warned John Wurzler, a vice president at Safeonline. "Businesses are blindly putting themselves at the brink of financial ruin every time an employee sends e-mail."
Most businesses to some extent are involved with the Internet and e-business, he said. Whether organizations are conducting complex transactions via the Web or simply sending e-mail, they have new exposure to loss.
Until recently, he said, "insurers had failed to positively acknowledge the new coverage needed but they hadn't positively excluded it," Mr. Wurzler explained. "Now that we know that traditional policies won't respond to a claim, businesses are suddenly finding themselves with a large gap in their insurance coverage that agents must help address."
Though many standard commercial insurance policies now contain exclusions that explicitly invalidate coverage for exposures in relation to the use of technology, "millions of dollars worth" of an organization's data and intellectual property is exposed, Mr. Wurzler added.
Safeonline also urged agents to inform clients about coverage lost under existing commercial policies and offer clients advice about their options. Safeonline said it offers an agent information pack for the SafeBusiness policy.
The pack includes information to help agents identify and explain gaps in existing coverage to their customers, the company said. It also includes examples of claims and loss scenarios as well as a guide on how to approach different clients.
More information about the SafeBusiness information pack and Safeonline insurance products can be obtained by contacting [email protected] or the Safeonline Broker Support Center, 866-644-9477.
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