The 6 Best Cyber Insurance Companies of 2023

While online quotes for cyber insurance are available, The Hartford requested a call with an agent to finish the process because of the risk involved with the business we were seeking insurance for.

The Hartford offers data breach and cyber liability insurance. The data breach policy is for smaller businesses, and it focuses more on helping your business expenses if you suffer a data breach by notifying impacted customers or handling a public relations (PR) campaign to help your business reputation. Meanwhile, cyber liability is for larger businesses. Some of the coverage it provides are legal services, notification expenses and, if the network goes down, lost income.

Finally, for larger businesses that handle a lot of sensitive data, The Hartford offers the policy CyberChoice First Response. This is more comprehensive and has higher limits and additional coverages, including worldwide coverage, voluntary notification expenses, and cyberterrorism protection.

Its cyber liability insurance is available in nearly every state and Washington, D.C. It has lower-than-average complaints with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and is one of the top three insurers that independent agents prefer to work with, according to J.D. Power.

For convenience, it offers its Cyber Center for cyber insurance policyholders. This is an online hub where you can find resources on how to prevent and respond to cybersecurity attacks.

The Hartford has more than 1 million small businesses insured and is rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best.

Chubb has an online quoting tool. However, for cyber insurance, it will most likely request you contact one of its agents to get a more accurate assessment of your business needs.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), launched in 1998, is Chubb’s cyber policy. As the name implies, Chubb states it isn’t just insurance but is a risk management solution. It includes recommendations and assessments before policy binding, prevention services for the policyholder, and near-instant response to incidents once Chubb is notified.

In 2021, Chubb added endorsements to meet the growing challenges of cybersecurity, including expanded ransomware coverage.

Chubb has a 24/7 hotline for cyberincidents. It also provides a quick response to any cyberattacks. Within five hours of reporting an incident, a local incident response manager will be assigned. An analysis will be done, and within 24 hours, vendors that will help triage the loss will be assigned to the incident.

Customers are happy with Chubb. It has lower-than-average complaints and is ranked #2 on J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction survey.

Chubb has been writing cyber insurance for decades and insurance for more than 100 years. AM Best has given it a rating of A++ (Superior).

Hiscox provided us with a cyber insurance quote for an ecommerce business with one employee for $35.78 over 10 monthly payments. This also included a down payment of $119.20. Alternatively, you could pay in full for $477. The policy carried total coverage of $250,000 with a deductible of $10,000.

Hiscox policyholders have access to a 24-hour breach response hotline, which is staffed by Baker-Hostetler. Hiscox will then acknowledge the claim within 24 hours of it being reported.

While Hiscox offers a number of cybersecurity resources, of particular note is the free service, Paladin Shield, a cybersecurity platform with training, phishing simulations, and live consultative services. Hiscox reports that of its policyholders who have engaged Paladin’s services, cyber claims are filed at a rate of less than 50% of policyholders who haven’t used the service.

Unfortunately, Hiscox complaints are higher than the national average with the NAIC.

A global company with more than 100 years of experience and more than 500,000 small businesses insured through it, Hiscox has a financial rating of A (Excellent) from AM Best.

To get a quote, you’ll need to contact Travelers or an independent agent that works with it.

Travelers offer CyberRisk, which is a broad policy flexible enough for any size business. It can be purchased as a standalone policy or as part of its management liability policy package. For smaller businesses, Travelers has CyberFirst Essentials. This policy is available with a business owner’s policy (BOP) and has first- and third-party coverage if your business has a data breach.

Travelers is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and has lower than the national average of complaints filed with the NAIC. It also offers a customer advocacy hotline if you have concerns about the service you have received.

It even has a wide range of prebreach services, including a hotline. If your business handles PHI and has any responsibility under HIPAA regarding how it safeguards data, Travelers offers a HIPAA coach, who is available for consultative services.

Travelers is a global company with nearly 200 years of experience. It has the financial strength you want for your business, with a rating of A++ (Superior) from AM Best.

We received multiple cyber insurance quotes for an IT services business. One was from BCS, which cost $1,405 annually for a policy with a total limit of $1 million. Another quote, also from BCS, was at $2,287 annually. The coverage was more extensive and included extortion and phishing coverage.

The risk services for the cyber policy would come directly from whatever provider writes the policy you purchase.

CoverWallet’s strength is found in policy management. If you buy a policy from CoverWallet, it’s paid in full, and you have instant coverage. You can work out a payment plan and pay it directly.

Once you purchase a policy, you will have access to the Wallet. This policy management tool lets you manage your policy and coverages and obtain instant certificates of insurance (COI).

CoverWallet is owned by Aon, which has a rating of A (Excellent) by AM Best. The two policies referenced in this article were both through BCS, which is also rated A (Excellent).

In less than a minute, we received a cyber insurance quote for an online book dealer. The cost was $250 annually. It provided $250,000 in aggregate cyber liability. Some of the coverages included within that limit were:

• Privacy regulation claim
• Crisis management expense
• Fraud response expense
• Public relations expense

At the start of the quote, it laid out what would be covered. Also, within the quote, it helpfully lists activities that aren’t covered, such as general liability for property damage or motor vehicles while in business use.

It also offers quotes for general liability and workers’ comp for an ecommerce retailer.

For cyber insurance, you can get a quote in 60 seconds. The information requested was very minimal, and almost immediately, a quote was generated. While we only received one quote instead of multiple, we could call and speak with a licensed agent for more options in case the one generated wasn’t sufficient.

If you do need to call, it is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday. Once you purchase a policy, it will create an online account where you can manage your policy, request a COI, and file a claim.

On the independent review site Trustpilot, Simply Business has 4.7 out of 5 stars from nearly 500 reviews. The top comments are all related to how happy customers are with the agents they worked with.

Simply Business is owned by Travelers, which has a rating of A++ (Superior).

Because the risk differs by industry, premium costs have a wide range. Cyber liability insurance can cost anywhere from $250 to $2,287 annually for smaller businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

A data breach insurance policy usually is designed for smaller businesses, and its coverage is less broad. It helps your business by helping with the cost of a data breach, such as notifying the affected customers.

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) refers to organizations that use, store, and process credit and debit card data. If you have a cyberattack and it involves data associated with payment, the PCI may investigate whether your business was negligent. If it finds you negligent, it can levy fines against your business. Cyber liability insurance can provide coverage in that scenario.