Thanks to the World Wide Web, a whole new world has opened up for businesses in the Greater Toronto area. You can reach customers in other provinces and countries instantly, and this can greatly increase your business and profits. To protect yourself, you may have the latest antivirus and firewall programs in place. However, this may not be enough to keep high tech thieves from breaking into your computers and stealing valuable data. This is the reason that cyber insurance is so important today. Let’s look at an example.

Jim and Erma were not satisfied with their 9 to 5 jobs and started selling things on Internet auctions to make money. Erma had a flair for this kind of work and before long, she was buying and selling an enormous amount of things online. In fact, she eventually started Erma’s Online Gift Shop and turned it into a highly profitable business run from home. Her customers enjoyed the wide range of products and the personal attention from the expert gift wrapping services she provided.

Jim was interested in making money and didn’t want to spend any of the profits on business investments or insurance. He figured, because they were a home based business, they had very few risks to be concerned with. However, Erma had business training and she knew to seek out an experienced risk management professional for advice on the best kind of insurance protection, including cyber liability insurance.

Erma contacted the independent insurance agent that they used for their home and auto insurance. He sat down with her and showed her the best insurance options for her needs. In addition, he talked about the importance of taking out cyber risk insurance, and because all her business was conducted online, she was vulnerable to cyber criminals.

A few months went by and Erma’s Online Gift Shop continued to thrive and expand. She had a long list of customers and many of them were repeat customers. Then one day, she realized her website had been hacked and someone accessed her customer data base. The thieves were able to get credit card numbers and personal information about her customers. This resulted in a series of claims and lawsuits, but because she had the foresight to buy cyber security insurance, her claims were eventually settled and the business remained intact.