BITTEN BY THE LOVE BUG

The recent “Love Bug” computer virus has generated a lot of speculation over the extent of the losses caused to business, and to what extent they were covered by insurance. The impact could include cluttered e-mail in-boxes, Web site crashes, lost revenue and corrupted data. Total damages from the virus, which encompass expenses to cleanse and reinstall affected systems, downtime and lost business, plus potential lawsuits for ineffective or deficient safeguards, could reach $15 billion by some estimates. Lloyd’s, who has initiated several e-commerce coverages recently, is calling “Love Bug” type viruses “the biggest insurance risk of the 21st century.”