Insurance Coverage for Data Breach Claims

Data breaches caused by hackers or other forces outside the control of a business are a scary and expensive proposition for any organization that collects or retains personally identifiable information, or warehouses credit or financial information. According to a recent study by Symantec, an average data breach will cost an organization $5.5 million, including direct costs such as engaging forensic experts, outsourcing hotline support and providing free credit monitoring subscriptions, discounts for future products and services, and indirect costs such as in-house investigations and communication. See Symantec Corp. and Ponemon Inst., 2011 Cost of Data Breach Study, United States (2012). These costs are in addition to the costs of potential litigation (often in the form of a class action) by customers alleging that the company failed to take adequate measures to protect their data, and investigations by government agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), that frequently become involved when breaches affect a large number of consumers.