Cyber attacks are on the rise and your dealership is at risk. The internet has made it easier than ever for hackers to access sensitive information about you, your customers, and your business. You need cyber insurance now more than ever before!
We’ve created a list of 6 reasons why every auto dealer needs cyber insurance to protect themselves from these threats. Keep reading so that we can help keep your dealership safe!
1. Your Customers Are At Risk
The majority of cyber attacks target individuals, but that doesn’t mean that your dealership isn’t indirectly at risk for these breaches.
Hackers can use stolen credit card information to make unauthorized purchases or commit fraud online. Therefore, you must proactively protect your customers and maintain their trust by protecting credit card information, personal data, and other sensitive information.
2. Your Business is at Risk
You must acknowledge that a cyberattack could hinder your ability to do business.
If a hacker were to breach the firewall protecting your dealership, they could steal client information. They can use it against them by selling it back to you at an inflated price or using it for identity theft. In addition, this could cause widespread damage to your business’ credibility and put you at risk for litigation.
3. You Store Valuable Information On Your IT System
It is important to note that cyber insurance does not protect against user error. If a dealership employee accidentally deletes data, the dealership isn’t protected.
You must ensure that your IT department is constantly monitoring activity to detect any suspicious behavior. Data loss prevention software could be an invaluable addition to your cyber insurance protection. This protects against accidental deletion of customer or business information.
4. Protection Against a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack
A DDoS attack is a cyberattack targeting your dealership’s servers so that legitimate users can no longer access their data.
The results could be catastrophic. Hackers could use your stolen information against you or keep your website offline until paid a ransom. A DDoS attack would also damage your dealership’s credibility, which could result in a loss of sales and a decrease in revenue potential.
5. Coverage From Cyber Extortion Attacks
The most important thing that you must do to maintain the safety of your dealership is prevent a cyberattack from occurring in the first place.
If a hacker manages to access your dealership’s servers and steal sensitive information, this leaves you vulnerable to extortion attacks. Have cyber insurance at the ready in case hackers threaten to release customer data unless paid a ransom.
6. Protection From Negligent Employees
To protect your business from the threat of a cyber-attack, you have to educate all employees about best practices for safe computing. This way, hackers won’t be able to access the dealership’s servers because employees must keep all personal devices separate from business technology.
Negligent employees could be a source of a cyber attack on your dealership. It can be due to human error or mishandling of data. So you must have coverage should their negligence result in the loss of customer information.
How to Select The Right Cyber Insurance Policy
There are a few things you should keep in mind when shopping around for cyber liability insurance. Here are some of the most important:
1. Previous Insurance Carriers May Not Be Enough Coverage
You must determine whether you have adequate amounts of coverage through your previous cyber insurance policies. If not, how much more do you need to protect yourself in the event of a data breach.
If there is already dealership coverage in place, this could provide some of the protection they need. However, it may not be enough to cover against a cyber attack.
2. Some Policies Only Protect Against Certain Types of Cyber Attacks
Some existing business owners or general liability policies may try to include some cyber insurance coverage. If this coverage is insufficient, you will want to replace it with a comprehensive policy.
You should have protection in case your dealership gets hit with a cyberattack. So you should only purchase a policy that provides this coverage and more.
3. Check With Your Agent To See If You Have Coverage
The cyber insurance policy you choose must not only cover equipment damage but also provide protection for your business income loss.
You may be able to claim reimbursement for expenditures required to fix problems caused by a cyberattack, including costs of hiring an IT security firm or paying ransom fees. Make sure your policy includes this type of coverage so you can get the most protection possible.
4. Review the Policy’s Exclusions
One thing you must determine before purchasing a cyber insurance policy is whether the dealership has everything it needs to protect itself from cyber-attacks.
This includes what information the policy covers, whether the policy covers all types of cyberattacks, and if there are any specific exclusions for this type of policy that will eliminate coverage on certain matters.
5. Determining What Exclusions You Need
When a dealership purchases a cyber insurance policy, they will have to go over the exclusions that exist within the terms and conditions of the policy. Every dealership is different, so you must find out what type of coverage you need. Consider shopping around with agents to determine what exclusions you should be looking for.
6. Finding the Right Policy With the Best Coverage Options
Once you know what exclusions your dealership needs, you can purchase a policy with the right options for your particular business.
Consider getting input from IT security consultants on how to go about choosing an insurance policy that protects against cyberattacks, as well as strategies for preventing these types of attacks from occurring in the first place.
Getting Started With Auto Dealer Cyber Insurance
Your dealership needs cyber insurance to protect itself from any kind of cyber attack.
By identifying what your dealership needs to stay protected and determining the coverages of existing cyber insurance policies, you can purchase a comprehensive policy that will adequately protect you in case your dealership gets hacked.
And for help getting that process started, you can call us for a quote.