Most business owners would hesitate before leaving their premises unlocked overnight. Yet an email can arrive wearing a much better disguise than a burglar: an invoice, a delivery notification or a message apparently sent by the boss.

The trouble with digital risk is that it rarely looks risky.

Cyber insurance helps businesses manage the financial consequences of covered cyber incidents. Depending on the policy, it can also provide access to specialists who help investigate an attack and support recovery.

For a business owner, that second benefit deserves attention. When something goes wrong, knowing who to call can be remarkably valuable.

Your business may be more digital than you think

You do not need to run a technology company to depend on technology.

A garage needs bookings and customer records. A manufacturer needs orders and production information. A retailer needs payments and stock systems.

Imagine those systems disappearing on a busy Monday morning. The computers are still there. The staff have arrived. The customers still expect service.

But the business has lost its ability to do ordinary things.

That is a useful way to think about cyber risk: how much of your working day depends on information being available and trustworthy?

We insure what we can picture

A broken window is easy to imagine. An inaccessible customer database is harder to visualise, even when the disruption could be considerable.

Visible problems attract attention. Invisible dependencies often wait until they fail.

Try a practical question: if your business lost access to its systems tomorrow, who would decide what happens next?

If the answer is a hurried search for a specialist, your recovery plan may need work.

What can cyber insurance cover?

Cover differs between insurers. Depending on the wording, a policy may include help with:

• Investigating an incident: specialist work to establish what happened and contain the problem.
• Data recovery: restoring or repairing affected data and systems.
• A personal data breach: legal advice and relevant notification costs.
• Business interruption: certain lost income or additional expenses following a covered event.

Check the limits, exclusions, excesses and any waiting periods. Some costs require the insurer’s agreement before you incur them.

Ransomware needs particular care. A ransom payment is not automatically covered, lawful or effective. Get specialist advice and follow the insurer’s incident-reporting process.

Security and insurance work together

Good locks do not make buildings insurance pointless. Buildings insurance does not make good locks pointless either.

Apply the same thinking to your digital systems.

Use multi-factor authentication, keep software updated, maintain tested backups and help staff recognise suspicious messages. Your insurer may also specify security requirements, so make sure your answers to its questions accurately reflect your business.

Insurance supports recovery from covered events. Everyday security reduces the chances of needing that recovery.

Buy a recovery plan you understand

When comparing policies, look beyond the annual premium. Ask:

• Who can we contact when an incident happens?
• What specialist support is included?
• Which systems and types of incident does the policy cover?
• What must we do before spending money on recovery?

The cheapest policy is difficult to judge without knowing the help it provides and the losses it excludes.

Discuss cyber insurance with Cornerstone

For businesses in Leicester, Leicestershire and beyond, the starting point is understanding how an interruption would affect your operation.

Speak to Cornerstone Insurance about your systems, your concerns and the cyber cover available. Call 0116 3440 040 to discuss your requirements.

You cannot make uncertainty disappear. You can make the next step clearer.

Cover is subject to the insurer’s policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions.