Cyber Insurance for Care Providers
Your care business depends on technology. What happens when it stops working?
Care providers hold some of the most sensitive information imaginable.
Care plans. Medical information. Medication records. Safeguarding information. Employee records. Family contact details. Financial information.
At the same time, care businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on technology to deliver their services – from electronic care planning and rostering systems to payroll, email, cloud-based records and communication with families, commissioners and healthcare professionals.
A cyber attack, data breach or system failure therefore isn’t simply an IT problem.
For a care provider, it can become an operational, regulatory and reputational crisis.
At InsurewithCare, we specialise in the care sector and can help you arrange Cyber Insurance designed to protect both your organisation and the people you support.
Imagine losing access to your systems tomorrow
Could you continue operating normally?
What would happen if your team suddenly couldn’t access:
- Electronic care plans
- Medication information
- Staff rotas
- Service-user records
- Contact details
- Payroll
- Accounting systems
- Cloud-based applications
Or if confidential information about the people you support was stolen and threatened with publication?
For a care provider, the consequences can extend far beyond the cost of replacing a computer.
Continuity of care could potentially be affected.
That’s why we believe cyber risk should form part of every care provider’s insurance review.
Care providers hold highly sensitive information
A data breach involving ordinary customer information can be serious.
A breach involving medical information, care records, safeguarding information or details about vulnerable adults or children can be considerably more sensitive.
Care providers have responsibilities for protecting this information and, depending upon the circumstances, a serious personal data breach may need to be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
But when a cyber incident occurs, knowing what you should do is only part of the problem.
You need people who can actually help you do it.
Cyber Insurance is about much more than paying a claim
One of the most valuable elements of a good Cyber Insurance policy is often the immediate access to specialist expertise when an incident occurs.
Depending upon the policy, this can include:
Cyber incident response specialists
Helping identify what has happened, contain the incident and coordinate your response.
IT forensic specialists
Investigating how your systems were compromised and what information may have been accessed.
Data breach and legal specialists
Helping establish your legal and regulatory obligations following a breach.
Data recovery specialists
Helping restore systems and information following ransomware, malware or other cyber events.
Public relations and crisis management support
Helping manage communications and protect your organisation’s reputation following a serious incident.
When something goes wrong, you don’t want to be searching Google for a cyber security expert at 2am.
You want to know who to call.
What can Cyber Insurance cover?
Depending upon the policy selected, Cyber Insurance can provide protection for:
Cyber Incident Response
The immediate costs of investigating, containing and managing a cyber attack or data breach.
Data Breach Costs
Costs associated with investigating a breach, obtaining specialist advice, notifying affected individuals and managing the response.
Data & System Restoration
Costs involved in restoring data, software and computer systems following an insured cyber incident.
Cyber Business Interruption
Loss of income and additional costs where a cyber incident prevents or disrupts your organisation’s normal operations.
Cyber Crime
Certain financial losses resulting from cyber crime, fraud or manipulation of your computer systems.
Cyber Liability
Defence costs and damages arising from certain claims against your organisation following a failure to protect data or systems.
Ransomware & Cyber Extortion
Specialist assistance and, where legally permissible and insured by the policy, financial protection following cyber extortion or ransomware incidents.
Regulatory & Legal Support
Specialist advice to help manage the legal and regulatory consequences of a cyber incident.
It doesn’t only happen to large organisations
It’s easy to think cyber criminals are primarily interested in banks, multinational companies and major public organisations.
They’re not.
Care providers can be attractive targets because they combine valuable and sensitive personal information with organisations that need their systems available to continue providing essential services.
And cyber incidents don’t always involve sophisticated hackers.
A member of staff clicking a malicious email, a compromised password, an incorrectly addressed email, a lost laptop or unauthorised access to records can all potentially lead to a serious incident.
Cyber risk is as much about people and information as it is about computers.
Cyber security and Cyber Insurance should work together
Insurance isn’t a replacement for good cyber security.
We encourage care providers to consider measures such as:
- Multi-factor authentication
- Regular and tested backups
- Staff cyber awareness and phishing training
- Appropriate access controls
- Strong password policies
- Software updates and patch management
- Incident response planning
Good risk management can reduce the likelihood and severity of an incident – and may also help you access better Cyber Insurance terms.
The aim should be to reduce the chances of something happening and have the right support in place if it does.
Cyber Insurance from people who understand care
You can buy Cyber Insurance from plenty of places.
But at InsurewithCare, we understand the organisation you’re trying to protect.
We work with Care Homes, Supported Living Providers, Children’s Homes, SEN providers and other specialist care organisations.
That means when we discuss cyber risk with you, we’re not simply thinking about computers and data.
We’re thinking about your residents and service users, your staff, your regulatory responsibilities, your reputation and your ability to continue providing care.
Is your care business properly protected?
Cyber risk is constantly evolving, so it deserves proper consideration as part of your overall insurance programme.
We’ll help you understand your exposure, explain the protection available and recommend cover appropriate for your organisation.
Because for a care provider, a cyber incident isn’t just an IT problem. It’s a care continuity problem.
Talk to our Care Sector Insurance specialists
Call InsurewithCare on 01452 345303 or request a Cyber Insurance quotation today.
