Every day, UK SMEs are the targets of around 65,000 attempted cyber attacks. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, around 10,000 of these are successful, costing the economy an estimated £27 billion every year.
As cyber crime is a growing threat, it’s becoming increasingly common for businesses to insure themselves against the potential cost of an attack. SME cyber insurance is aimed at helping businesses cope financially if their digital defences are breached, allowing them to get back on track as quickly as possible.
Cyber insurance is a type of insurance that’s designed to alleviate the financial burden of a cyber attack. The UK government estimates that the annual cost of cyber crime for businesses is approximately £15,300 per victim. For some however, it will be far, far more.
If your business has cyber insurance, you’ll have most of this money refunded to you following the attack. However, insurance can’t protect your business from the attack itself, or compensate for the loss of customer trust. So, it’s much better to protect yourself from cyber attacks in the first place.
Cyber insurance policies can vary, but in general, they’ll cover:
A lot of policies won’t cover any kind of fraud, so it’s important to check the small print carefully before signing on the dotted line.
The cost of cyber insurance will depend on the business you want to cover. Different businesses, industries and sectors have different threat levels attributed to them. It’s this, along with a few other factors, that will determine the cost of your premiums.
Cyber crime is on the rise. SMEs saw a 15% increase in cyber attacks in 2022 alone, and the rate of attack and attempted attack only seems to be growing. If you run a small or medium sized business, taking out insurance could help to reduce the financial impact if your company is targeted.
It’s important to remember that cyber insurance can’t protect you from cyber attacks themselves, and it’s far better to upgrade your security systems, and train your staff, to prevent a breach in the first place.
One of the most effective ways of improving cyber security is to work with a trustworthy IT company. They’ll be able to offer advice, training and information on how you can protect your data, your business and your customers.
Download the Ultimate Guide To Defending Your SME Against Cyber Attacks to find out more.
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