As an accounting firm, you are a prime target for cybercriminals looking to steal sensitive data and hold it for ransom. Investing in cyber insurance for accountants is an effective way to gain peace of mind about the risks your firm faces and the potential toll they can take on your organization’s finances.
Gilsbar offers cyber liability insurance solutions designed to protect accounting firms from digital threats and data breaches. What is cyber liability insurance, and why do accounting firms need it? Here’s how this form of insurance can help you mitigate the legal and financial risks of a cyberattack.
What You Need to Know About Cyber Insurance for Accountants
Cybercriminals are becoming smarter and smarter as they gain access to new technology and develop inventive ways to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing sensitive data. Despite the measures your accounting firm might take to protect your clients’ financial information and train staff on the signs of a scam email, you can’t prevent cyberattacks with 100% certainty.
Cyber insurance for accountants provides an additional layer of protection for times when even your best efforts to protect client data fail. This type of professional liability policy is a critical component of any financial institution’s risk management strategy.
What Is Cyber Insurance?
Cyber liability coverage protects your business against the financial risks involved in a cybercrime. Like other forms of insurance, cyber insurance does not prevent an expensive event from happening. Instead, it provides financial protection to help your business move forward if and when such an event occurs.
Cyber insurance can help you pay for the costs to return your accounting firm to normal functioning after a cyberattack. While coverage can vary, many plans include the following:
- First-party coverage to reimburse the income you would have earned while your business was closed and handling a cyberattack and any funds you lost during the attack
- Reimbursements for the costs related to notifying clients about the attack, providing credit monitoring, and taking other data breach response measures
- Third-party claims from clients and other parties impacted by the attack, such as those whose accounts were hacked
- Extortion coverage to respond to a ransom threat
- Attorney’s fees and other regulatory fines associated with your response to the attack
This type of coverage can give your accounting firm peace of mind that you will be able to recover from network security risks.
What Cyber Risks Do Accountants Face?
Accountants and other financial organizations face immense risks of cyberattacks and digital crimes. Their data is incredibly valuable to cybercriminals looking to steal from individual and business accounts or hold sensitive data for ransom.
Accountants are at risk of:
- Data breaches
- Phishing attacks
- Ransomware attacks
- Insider threats
- Malware
These threats can lead to:
- Financial losses due to periods during which the business closes to recover, the costs to meet the cybercriminal’s demands, and more
- Legal consequences when clients sue the firm for failing to protect their information
- Reputational damage as potential clients learn that the firm does not have adequate cybersecurity measures
How Does Cyber Insurance Mitigate Risks for Accountants?
Your organization can only do so much to ward off cyber threats. Cyber insurance for accountants helps fill in the gaps, mitigating your risks by:
• Covering legal expenses related to a cybercrime
• Making up for financial losses resulting from the incident
• Giving you access to prompt resources to mitigate further losses after an attack
With a comprehensive cyber liability policy, you can gain peace of mind that an unexpected cyberattack would not completely drain your business’s resources. You would have access to the funds necessary to recover from this event, rebuild client trust, and navigate any legal issues that arise.
Seek Cyber Insurance for Accounting Firms from Gilsbar
At Gilsbar, we provide comprehensive professional liability insurance to protect businesses against a wide range of threats and losses. Let us match you with a cyber liability policy that perfectly accounts for your business’s needs and budget.
Contact us today to request a quote for cyber insurance for accountants, then review our guide on cyber insurance explained.