View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2014/08/19/338081.htm

Allianz Launches Cyber Crime Coverage for Canadian Companies

Industrial insurance specialist Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has launched Allianz Cyber Protect in Canada, a suite of coverages with capacity to protect a company in the event of a data loss or a cyber-security incident.

Allianz Cyber Protect includes business interruption capabilities as well as access to a panel of public relations consultants and forensic IT experts who will work with AGCS clients to manage a cyber incident to minimize financial loss and reputational damage.

According to a study by Ponemon Institute released in June 2014, 56 percent of Canadian companies surveyed state that their organization is not protected from advanced cyber attacks and 59 percent do not believe they have sufficient security to prevent cybercriminals from stealing corporate information. The IBM/Ponemon “2014 Cost of Data Breach Study” reports the average cost to a company of a data breach was US $3.5 million, 15 percent more than what it cost last year. Allianz Cyber Protect is being launched as the Canadian Government is reviewing legislation that will better protect Canadians’ privacy and increase consumer trust in the digital economy.

“The sheer number and evolving sophistication of security threats renders it virtually impossible for any organization to guarantee total security. Thus effective risk transfer is an important tool for the risk manager,” said Terri Mason, head of Professional Indemnity for AGCS Canada.

Elements of Allianz Cyber Protect include:

• A comprehensive policy offering cover up to a limit of C$75 million and covering a range of cyber exposures;
• Three levels of business interruption cover that can be customized to each client’s unique needs;
• Immediate access to an IT crisis response team to resolve the incident with a range of services, including IT forensic services, (including notification services and credit monitoring services, as needed), media crisis management services and specialist legal services. AGCS partners include global consultants Dell SecureWorks, Incoming Thought Ltd. and E-merging Technologies Group Inc.

Mason added, “Companies are facing attacks on a daily basis and it is no longer only the Fortune 500 companies that have to deal with cyber crime. Hackers can infiltrate small and mid-size businesses with devastating financial and reputational consequences. We have also seen criminals hacking into the systems of smaller firms as a way of ‘piggy-backing’ access to the larger companies they partner with.”

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) is the Allianz Group’s dedicated carrier for corporate and specialty insurance business. AGCS provides insurance and risk consultancy across the whole spectrum of specialty, alternative risk transfer and corporate business: marine, aviation (incl. space), energy, engineering, financial lines (incl. D&O), liability and property insurance (including international insurance programs).

Worldwide, AGCS operates in 28 countries with own units and in more than 160 countries through the Allianz Group network and partners.