New cyber insurance website launched for Kiwi SMBs

A dedicated cyber insurance website aimed at small business has been launched by Frank Risk Management, a move the full disclosure insurance firm says is a first in New Zealand.

With cover underwritten by Delta Insurance New Zealand Ltd, the Frankie Cyber Insurance website provides New Zealand's SME market with information, examples and the ability to acquire cyber liability insurance online.

"Cyber loss is the fastest growing threat to organisations of all sizes, regardless of the territory in which they are based or operate," the company says.

"Cyber incidents can result in significant financial losses, reputational damage, business disruption, and business closure," explains Rene Swindley, director of Frank Risk Management.

"A cyber incident is not always malicious, a loss can be as simple as an employee opening a virus infected email they believed to be a remittance advice or leaving a company smart phone in a café," he says. "The Frankie website allows businesses to understand these risks and how they could impact their business.

The Frankie website allows businesses to explore the costs of cyber insurance for their business, so that should something go wrong, the cyber experts and the financial backing are there to assist.

 "Cyber and technology related losses are a major threat to New Zealand business," says Swindley.

"Business owners are too relaxed about cyber risk and that it often takes a costly lesson before SME's realise the impact on their operation.

"This attitude can result in dire situations such as the business being unable to access its mission critical software or client data," he explains.

"Having good cyber risk management procedures in place joint with the safety-net provided by cyber insurance cover is a relatively simple task but one mostly ignored by the SME sector.

Ian Pollard, managing director of Delta Insurance, says all New Zealand companies, especially SMEs, should be taking cyber risk and cyber risk management seriously.

"It's not just big businesses who are victims of cybercrime, cyber-attacks or privacy breaches; more significant to the New Zealand economy is that smaller businesses are often more vulnerable due to their lack of appropriate risk management strategies," Pollard says.

Swindley says most small businesses in New Zealand only see their insurance provider on an annual basis. "Rather than waiting for their own insurance providers to catch up with this major business risk, Frankie allows the SME sector easy online access to insurance and information around the risks of cyber incidents," he says.