Healthcare providers continue to rely on a small limit of Cyber Liability Insurance added to their Medical Malpractice Insurance policies to protect against Cyber Risks. With the frequency of cyber attacks and data losses in the medical industry, healthcare providers need to consider adding a Cyber Liability Insurance policy with a minimum limit of $1,000,000.
While healthcare providers have been slow to add Cyber Liability Insurance policies to their risk management portfolios, they are also at a much higher risk for a Cyber Claim than businesses in other industries.
There are at least 3 main Cyber Risks healthcare providers need to protect against:
- Data Breaches — medical offices, hospitals, and other healthcare providers are more prone to data breaches than other business sector. One reason for this is that the information obtainable in patient records contains more of what identity thieves want. Most records include name, date of birth, social security number, address, multiple phone numbers, and credit card or banking account numbers. This type of information is extremely valuable on the “black market.” Another factor adding to the higher risk in healthcare is the number of people who use and store patient information. Also, the need to have the information on mobile devices makes it more vulnerable to thieves. Many breaches are caused by a stolen laptop or tablet that is unprotected.
- Ransomware — hackers are able to high jack entire computer systems and shut down a hospital or clinic remotely from anywhere in the world. Check the news for ransomware attacks and you will find stories of hospitals all over the U.S. that have been hit for millions of dollars. Many times healthcare providers have no choice but to pay the hackers because they cannot afford to be shut down for more than a few hours. Time is critical in healthcare, and hackers know this and choose targets carefully. According to recent reports, ransomeware attacks have doubled in the last 2 years across all industries, and the top targets are financial and healthcare businesses.
- HIPAA Violations — a loss of customer data in any industry can be costly and devastating, but in healthcare the loss can be crippling. Protected Health Information lost to hackers, ransomware, or thieves must be reported to HHS if it affects more than 500 individuals. In addition to the cost of notifying patients, providing credit monitoring services, and PR/reputation management, healthcare providers can be fined due to HIPAA violations. The fines have been extremely high in cases where the entity did not do enough to prevent the loss of data, and did not have a disaster recovery plan in place.
The experienced brokers at eQuoteMD can provide quotes on Cyber Liability Insurance with limits ranging from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 depending on the size of the provider. This coverage provides help with notifying patients, legal fees, fines and penalties, and credit monitoring services for those affected by a breach. We offer Medical Malpractice Insurance that includes Cyber Liability Coverage for any specialty in any state. Get a Fee Quote Today.
