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4 Reasons For Investing In Cyber Insurance For Law Firms

4 Reasons For Investing In Cyber Insurance For Law Firms

shopia dicousta950 15-Aug-2019

Law firms routinely invest in getting legal professional liability cover for their organization. However, most attorneys are still unaware of the need to invest in cyber insurance for law firms. The reason for this is that lawyers feel that their professional liability coverage is enough to protect them from cybercrime risks. They need to understand that an insurance policy for digital hazards is a much better option to deal with such risks. These products have been created specifically to provide a protective cover to organizations who possess valuable digital data. The loss of this information can cause immense monetary loss which can be offset with a custom insurance cover. Moreover, the costs will not be more than what is usually spent on online marketing for law firms. Here are a few strong reasons for acquiring a cyber insurance cover for your legal practice.

1. Provides Protection From Serious Risks

Large corporations have dedicated departments for risk management. These teams are responsible for defining the policies and procedures for mitigating the possible risks faced by the organizations. However, as a small law firm owner, there is a slim chance that you enjoy such a luxury. An insurance company that offers cyber protection plans can help you close serious gaps in your digital infrastructure. As part of its policy purchase conditions, it can ask you to install security solutions to protect your system. Social media has become an integral part of law firm marketing. The insurer can advise you on the best practices to implement to minimize the risk of breaches from such platforms.
 

2. Existing Insurance Products May Not Be Sufficient
 

As mentioned before, most lawyers subscribe to legal professional liability insurance covers. They help them get protection from human error, acts of omission, malpractice, contract breaches, etc. This kind of coverage is necessary for safeguarding your firm from malpractice suits and other similar hazards. However, if your digital systems are hacked or compromised in any manner, the resultant loss may not be covered by a professional liability policy. In order to recover your financial losses due to the breaching of your network or system, you will need a specific insurance product for cybersecurity. Attorneys, especially those who handle prominent clients or businesses are in possession of critical information about their cases. They are attractive targets for unethical elements and, therefore, getting a cyber insurance cover will be pertinent.
 

3. Enforcement Of Data Protection Laws
 

Another reason which makes cyber insurance for law firms necessary is related to the law itself. Many jurisdictions around the world are planning to enforce data protection laws. The European Union has already enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These laws make the organization accessing the personal information of individuals, responsible for the data’s safety.

It is worth mentioning that penalties for not complying with the GDPR are significant. Business owners should educate about it, and there are many useful resources on the internet like the EU representative service on GDPR.

As an attorney, you also are privy to critical information about your clients. Corporate lawyers know a lot about their client’s business. In case, their systems are breached and the information related to their clients is stolen, the affected clients can sue them for not safeguarding their personal data. Getting insurance cover will help you cover the financial losses sustained during such an eventuality.
 

4. Benefit Of Incident Response Assistance

Purchasing a cybersecurity-centric insurance cover will be helpful in not only covering the financial losses due to an attack but also in mitigating them. A tactic that is being increasingly used by unethical elements these days is ransomware attacks. Hackers take control of a company’s system and prevent the legal user from accessing the information stored in it. Then they demand ransom for releasing the data. They also threaten legal firms by saying that they will contact the firm’s clients and tell them about the situation. The agency fearing for its reputation given in and suffers serious financial damage. Most cyber insurance policies cover such scenarios. Once an attack takes place, the firm immediately files a claim with its insurance provider which, in turn, hires professional incident response professionals to handle the negotiations with the hacking group. This helps in reducing the ransom amount and cutting some of the damages.
 

Conclusion  
 

In today’s digital age, cyber insurance for law firms is not a luxury but a necessity. Attorneys are storing critical client information on digital systems that are prone to breaches. Buying a cybersecurity cover will provide a shield against any such unfortunate events.
 


Updated 23-Mar-2023
Sophia Dicosta is a renowned Online Marketer by profession with hobbies of innovative and online marketing writing. She works with leading online marketing for law firms agency - ConroyCreativeCounsel Ltd. Feel free to get in touch with her if you about hire an online marketer for legal marketing services.

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