Two neighbours’ daily routine of watering plants leads to an interesting conversation
Sindu: I got an email for buying quality seeds online and I was giving all the details, because I thought it was a reputed source. But I ended up losing money. I didn’t even know it had happened until it was too late! But, I think my insurance will cover for this.
Bindu: Okay. Does it provide any other coverage?
Sindu: Yes. Now, if you take it to court to fight a legal battle, then the policy also covers cost incurred in prosecuting a criminal case and other legal expenses related to the cyber-attack.
Further, it also covers the cost of employing IT services to recover the lost data.
Bindu: This is good news! But you know, even if the losses are covered, these cyber attacks affect you mentally.
Sindu: Guess what? If policyholders require medical counselling, insurers do offer to cover the cost of the same, up to the sum insured.
Bindu: Wow! Looks like it is a must have.
Sindu: It may appear so. But cyber insurance policies have their own limitations. They come with sub-limits, deductibles and waiting periods that usually vary with cyber threats and with each insurer. Policyholders are expected to adhere to certain protocols such as constant updating of software.
Bindu: Update the system? So what happens at the time of claim, otherwise?
Sindu: Well, post the cyber attack you should inform the insurer. Now, if you fall behind on your due diligence such as software update, installing anti-virus or other such protection software , you may not be able receive your claim. One of the most important points to note is that, a policyholder can claim only for one event, even if the one event, say, malware attack, triggers multiple events such as hacking, phishing or unauthorised transactions.
Bindu: I knew it! It was too good to be true. But at least, we have many options.
Sindu: No, in India only a few insurers offer this product. These are new to the industry and yet to evolve and widen the scope of coverage.