A big challenge has emerged for carriers seeking to market cyber liability insurance: Most small businesses aren’t necessarily buying the product and believe they’re doing well enough with precautions they’ve taken on their own, according to a new survey from Insureon.

Just 18 percent of respondents to the Insureon survey believed they are at risk of experiencing a cyberattack or breach. Seventy-seven percent of respondents disclosed they have controls in place to protect them if any data breach happens, and 74 percent said they lack cyber liability data, with a similar majority asserting they don’t have customer data that would make them susceptible to an attack.

Insureon, an online brokerage focused on small business insurance, also found that:

• 85 percent of respondents hadn’t experienced a data breach in the past.
• 58 percent said they manage their information technology needs themselves. Just 17 percent do so with a full-time IT employee, 12 percent rely on a third- party IT firm, and 13 percent use a contracted IT worker.
• About 77 percent of respondents said they depend on software to prevent malware and viruses, as well as firewalls and spam filters.

Insureon warns that a data breach isn’t cheap for small business owners. While business owners on their own can take precautions such as updating their software, limiting website access and educating employees as to cyber. Hiring an IT expert is also positive, to have someone on call who can make sure a business is following the best cyber security practices, the company said.

Insureon’s survey is based on the responses of 2,500 members of Manta, an online resource and community for small business owners. Manta and Insureon jointly conducted the poll.

Source: Insureon