Nationwide, Hartford Steam Boiler Offer Cyber Cover for Small Business Owners

As more than half of all U.S. small businesses have experienced a data breach, Nationwide has joined forces with Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) to offer cyber insurance coverage for small business owners. The services and coverages help small businesses respond to a data breach, computer attack or identity theft and get their business, personal identity, and overall reputation back on track.

Small business owners face big risks, with 55 percent of small businesses in the U.S. experiencing a data breach and 53 percent experiencing multiple data breaches, the company said in a statement. Additionally, when a criminal cyber attack occurs, it’s not just the business at risk but customers, too.

Nationwide’s cyber liability product offers three key benefits for small business owners, including:

• Business restoration and liability protection: Nationwide is offering CyberOne coverage, which helps to both restore businesses in the event of a loss and protect against lawsuits. CyberOne protects businesses against damage to electronic data and computer systems from a virus or other computer attacks. The coverage protects a business’s liability to third parties that may have suffered damage due to security weaknesses in the business’s computer system.

• Recovery service and protection: Nationwide’s Data Compromise coverage is designed to help businesses notify and assist their clients and others following a breach of personal identifying information. The plan provides coverage for specialized services such as credit monitoring and identity restoration. It also provides defense and liability coverage to respond to third party actions brought against the insured by individuals affected by the breach. Plans offer coverage limits of up to $1 million.

• Identity Recovery: Identity Recovery combines identity theft insurance with a service component. Nationwide’s coverage includes personalized service from a team of experts to help restore identities to pre-theft status. Coverage and service are provided for key owners, employees and resident family members of key owners and employees. Identity Recovery coverage is automatically included when Data Compromise coverage is purchased or can be purchased separately.

In addition to these benefits, Nationwide will provide policyholders access to several risk management tools including a toll-free identity recovery and data breach help line, as well as a cyber/data breach risk management web portal. The web portal will help customers understand their data information exposures, help businesses plan and be prepared for a cyber attack or data breach, and establish a response plan to manage the costs and minimize the effects of a data breach.