Cyber Insurance for Financial Advisors

As a Financial Advisor, you are entrusted with a great deal of sensitive client information. While cyber-attacks are increasingly common, cyber liability insurance can help to provide your company with protection from data recovery costs, reputational damage, and income loss if your clients’ data and records are exposed.

What Does Cyber Insurance Cover?

It’s important to note that not all cyber liability plans are the same. Although many plans offer some of the same general benefits, some plans may offer different or even extra protection compared to others. At Cross, we work with our trusted carriers to find cyber coverage options to fit your financial institution’s needs. So, what does cyber insurance typically cover?

• First Party Coverage

First party cyber insurance typically consists of coverage that helps protect your business from a data breach involving your own data. This coverage can help with the expenses associated with investigative services, interruptions to your business’ operations, and the recovery of data.

• Third Party Coverage

Third-party cyber insurance is for situations where a data breach or cyber-attack to your system results in your client’s data becoming compromised.  This type of coverage can help with certain expenses you may incur in notifying your affected clients, and for your attorneys’ fees, settlement costs, and judgments incurred in connection to claims asserted against you by affected clients. Additional Coverages

 There are some additional coverage options you should also consider inquiring about.

• Coverage to protect your intellectual property, such as your financial institutions advertising, copyrights, trademarks etc. and against libel, or slander
• Access to professional cyber resources that can be utilized in recovering from an attack or breach

How Much does Cyber Liability Cost?

Just as any other type of insurance coverage, there are various factors that can impact your cyber insurance costs. These factors may include:

• The number of customers or clients you have
• The type of data that your financial institution handles
• Your financial institution’s revenue
• Your financial institution’s claim history

Cyber Insurance Quotes for Financial Advisors

Not having cyber insurance could put your business at risk. Requesting a cyber insurance quote for your business is as simple as filling out our form here. At Cross Insurance, we work with many insurance carriers– from local companies to national names. If you prefer to call someone to start the quoting process, you can find a list of our offices as well as phone numbers here. 

Types of Financial Advisors

The term “financial advisor” is a broad term that can be used to classify various types of financial professionals that provide advice to others regarding their money and their investments. The following non exhaustive list includes some of the titles that may fall under a financial advisor.

• Investment Advisor
• Broker and Broker-dealers
• Certified Financial Planner
• Financial Consultant
• Portfolio, investment, and asset manager
• Wealth Advisor
• Financial Coach
• Financial Therapist

Why do You Need Cyber Insurance

Cyber liability insurance helps to provide your company with protection from data recovery costs, reputational damage, and income loss if your clients’ data and records are exposed. Businesses today are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, making the possibility of data breaches less of an “if” and more of a “when.” A data breach can do more than just damage your computer system- it can also result in fines and legal fees.

Other Common Coverages for Financial Advisors

• Professional Liability Insurance– Typically provides protection if a client believes a mistake you made, such as a missed deadline, caused financial loss
• Commercial General Liability– Can provide coverage if your company causes property damage or bodily injury to others
• Commercial Auto Insurance– Usually covers things like medical expenses for individuals who are injured in an accident involving your business vehicles 
• Commercial Property Insurance– Can protect your equipment, inventory, and your furniture
• Workers’ Compensation– If you have employees, Workers’ Comp coverage may be required

Different types of Cyber Attacks

The following examples are potential threats that your financial institution would want to have cyber insurance to help protect against.

Malware – Computers used at­­­ work can be damaged, or the information they contain may be harmed, by malicious code (also known as malware). A malicious program can be a virus, a worm, or a Trojan horse. Hackers, intruders, and attackers use these techniques to make money off these software flaws.

Identity Theft and Scams – Identity theft and scams are crimes of opportunity, and even those who never use computers can be victims. There are several ways criminals can access your information, including stealing your wallet, overhearing a phone call, looking through your trash, or picking up a receipt that contains your account number.

Phishing – Phishing attacks use emails, texts, and malicious websites that appear to be trusted organizations, such as charity organizations or online stores, to obtain user personal information.

 

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This article is for general informational purposes only and is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. Cross Insurance shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on or use of any of the information contained in this article. The information contained or referenced in this article is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal, insurance, accounting or other professional advice, nor shall it serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. The views expressed in this article are that of its author and do not necessarily represent the views of Cross Financial Corp. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Cross Insurance”) or Cross Insurance’s management or shareholders.