Running a business today means operating in a world where cybercrime isn’t just possible — it’s inevitable. Whether you’re a small startup or an established mid-sized organization, your digital systems, sensitive data, and online tools make you a target for threat actors looking to profit. Traditional insurance doesn’t cover today’s cyber risks, and cybersecurity measures can’t ensure complete protection. Cyber liability insurance addresses this gap.
Cybercrime Is Rising — And Small Businesses Are Prime Targets
Cybercriminals no longer focus only on large corporations. In fact, 98% of all cyber claims now come from small to medium-sized businesses. Why? Because attackers know these organizations often have fewer IT resources and weaker defenses — yet they still store valuable data and rely on critical systems to run their operations.
The numbers are alarming:
- Ransomware attacks account for 64% of all cyber insurance claims.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) costs have jumped 220% in just one year.
- Cyber extortion cases grew 77% year over year, with SMBs hit 4.2 times more often than large enterprises.
Every hour, about 100 new victims experience some form of cybercrime. And with the rise of AI-driven deepfakes, criminals are finding new ways to defraud companies through fake audio, video, and email messages that are harder than ever to detect.
The Real Cost of a Cyber Incident
A cyberattack doesn’t just cause IT headaches — it disrupts every part of your business. Operations grind to a halt, employees can’t do their jobs, and customers can’t reach you. The financial damage is staggering: the average business interruption cost after a cyber incident is now $1.3 million. And that number only reflects the immediate impact of downtime.
The true cost of a cyberattack goes far beyond lost productivity:
- Data recovery expenses: Restoring corrupted or encrypted files often requires specialized forensic services, which can run into six figures.
- Customer notification and credit monitoring: If sensitive information is exposed, you’re required by law to notify affected individuals — and in many cases, pay for credit monitoring services.
- Legal and regulatory fines: Breaches frequently trigger lawsuits and penalties under privacy laws such as HIPAA, GDPR, or state data protection regulations.
- Ransom payments: Attackers often demand payment to unlock systems or return stolen data — and even paying doesn’t guarantee they’ll hold up their end of the bargain.
- Reputation damage: Clients and partners may lose trust, leading to canceled contracts, reduced sales, and a long road to rebuild your credibility.
For many organizations, these costs pile up fast. What starts as a single phishing email or ransomware infection can balloon into a multi-million-dollar crisis. Without proper cyber liability coverage, businesses are left paying out of pocket, draining cash reserves or forcing difficult decisions like layoffs, service cuts, or even shutting down entirely.
Cyber liability insurance provides a financial safety net to absorb these expenses so an incident doesn’t cripple your operations. It ensures you have the resources to recover quickly — not just technically, but financially and reputationally as well.
What Cyber Liability Insurance Does for You
Cyber liability insurance is designed to protect your business when cybersecurity tools alone aren’t enough. While strong defenses can reduce risk, no business is immune to phishing emails, ransomware, or fraudulent instructions. When an attack slips through, cyber liability insurance provides financial and operational support so you can recover quickly.
Key protections typically include:
- Cyber extortion and ransomware coverage: Helps you respond if attackers lock down your data or demand payment to restore access.
- Cybercrime and electronic fraud coverage: Protects against losses from scams, phishing, or fraudulent payment instructions — risks amplified by AI-powered deception.
- Network interruption coverage: Reimburses lost income, restoration costs, and business continuity expenses after a cyber incident — whether it affects your systems, a service provider, or even a voluntary shutdown to contain damage.
The Intech Hawaii Advantage: No Confusion, No Finger-Pointing
One major challenge businesses face when filing cyber claims is figuring out which insurance policy should respond — your provider’s coverage or your own. To help address this, Intech Hawaii recommends working with techrug, a specialized cyber insurance provider.
Intech Hawaii itself carries a Cyber Liability Errors & Omissions policy through techrug’s Lloyd’s of London syndicate. When our clients also choose techrug for their own Cyber Liability or Cyber Crime coverage, the claims process becomes far smoother. If a covered claim arises, either your policy or ours will respond — without the usual finger-pointing or delays. This alignment ensures everyone is on the same team, focused on resolving the issue quickly and getting your business back on track.
Extra Value Beyond Coverage
Choosing cyber liability insurance through techrug doesn’t just provide financial protection — it also gives you tools to strengthen your defenses:
- Up to 30% premium discounts for staying in compliance with an annual Cyber Security Risk Assessment.
- Semiannual external attack surface reports to identify vulnerabilities before attackers do.
- Yearly dark web scans and ransomware exposure reports so you know if your credentials or data are being sold online.
- Additional security awareness training opportunities to educate your employees — your first line of defense against phishing and fraud.
- Access to carrier-approved policy templates and guidance to improve your internal cybersecurity practices.
Fast, Reliable Incident Response
When an incident happens, every minute counts. That’s why techrug endorses DFIR-certified MSPs (Digital Forensics and Incident Response) like Intech Hawaii — as panel providers. If you experience an attack, you won’t waste valuable time searching for help. You’ll have direct access to experts who can identify, contain, and remediate the breach quickly while limiting damage and downtime.
This also means your Incident Response Plan (IRP) and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) aren’t just theoretical documents — they’re reviewed and updated with every renewal to make sure your business is truly prepared.
Why Cyber Insurance Complements Cybersecurity — Not Replaces It
Some business owners mistakenly believe that strong firewalls, endpoint protection, and regular employee training make cyber insurance unnecessary. While these measures are critical, they only address one side of the equation — prevention.
Cybersecurity lowers your risk. Advanced tools, patch management, and awareness programs make it harder for cybercriminals to get in. They block the majority of threats, but no system is perfect. Even the most vigilant companies have seen employees click on a convincing phishing email or attackers exploit a zero-day vulnerability before a patch exists.
Cyber insurance covers the impact. When an attack slips through, insurance provides the financial and operational resources to respond quickly. It covers costs for forensic investigations, data recovery, customer notifications, legal fees, and even ransom payments if necessary. Most importantly, it helps your business keep operating while you recover.
This layered approach is just like physical security:
- You lock your doors and install an alarm to deter intruders — that’s your cybersecurity.
- You carry property insurance so that if someone still breaks in, you’re not left paying for all the damage yourself — that’s your cyber liability policy.
In other words, cybersecurity reduces the chance of a breach, but cyber insurance reduces the damage if one occurs. Both are essential to a complete risk management strategy. By combining them, you protect not only your systems, but also your finances, your reputation, and your ability to serve customers without disruption.
For modern businesses, it’s not an either/or decision. Cybersecurity keeps the doors locked; cyber insurance makes sure you can rebuild if someone still finds a way inside.
Real-World Example: How Coverage Can Save a Business
Imagine your company’s email system gets compromised. A hacker impersonates your CEO, instructing the finance department to wire $250,000 to a “vendor.” The payment goes through before anyone realizes the fraud.
- Without cyber insurance: Your business eats the full $250,000 loss — plus legal fees if the money can’t be recovered and an investigation is required.
- With cyber insurance through techrug: You have financial coverage to recover the funds, access to forensic experts to investigate the breach, and guidance to strengthen your email security to prevent a repeat attack.
Now imagine the same situation but with ransomware. Hackers lock down your systems, and you can’t operate for a week. Revenue stops, employees sit idle, and customers can’t reach you. Cyber insurance covers ransom payments (if deemed necessary), restoration costs, and lost business income — helping you recover in days instead of weeks or months.
What’s Next: How to Get Started
Cyber threats are evolving faster than ever. Deepfakes, AI-generated scams, and increasingly sophisticated ransomware mean no business is too small or too prepared to be targeted. Cyber liability insurance gives you a critical safety net, ensuring that a single incident doesn’t turn into a financial disaster.
Intech Hawaii makes the process simple:
- We connect you directly with techrug to place your policy through their Lloyd’s of London syndicate.
- We help you complete your Cyber Security Risk Assessment to qualify for premium discounts.
- We integrate your coverage with our own MSP policy so there’s never any confusion when a claim arises.
Protect Your Business Before It’s Too Late
Cyber liability insurance isn’t optional anymore — it’s a fundamental part of running a modern business. Attackers are getting smarter, faster, and more relentless, but you don’t have to face them alone.
Contact Intech Hawaii today to schedule a consultation. We’ll review your current cybersecurity posture, walk you through the benefits of techrug’s CyberBreach policy, and help you put comprehensive protection in place — before you need it.
