Cloud Services & Platforms
Cloud based solutions have become deeply integrated within many organizations in one form or another. With both increased industry and product specialization, such as e-forensics for law firms, cloud based storage for accounting firms, industry specific payment processing or specialized software for design professionals, the risks of these companies is changing. While your company may be broadly defined as an SAAS (software as a service), PAAS (platform as a service), or cloud storage provider, you are much more than that. You are industry aligned professionals that must be aware of your clients’ legal, financial and regulatory landscape. With operations often dependent on your services/platforms, you are also a trusted partner, and there is often little room for failure or “down-time”. When it comes to managing risk and structuring insurance programs, it is important to partner with a broker that understands this, as there is no standardized insurance product. Each cloud service is unique with its own risk profile that needs to be addressed. These exposures include:
- Loss of client data (such as marketing databases, logistic information, sales records, health records, etc)
- Financial damages resulting from “downtime” resulting from a breach, virus or ransomware attack
- Cyber exposures created from membership based models and storage of personal information
- Accusations of misrepresentations regarding capabilities or ROI
- Professional liability claims
- Media & Publishers’ liability for published information and IP related lawsuits.
While E&O/cyber insurance is generally a wise first step, these policies vary greatly in coverage, terms and verbiage requiring careful structuring, review and negotiation. There are also many other areas that need to be addressed outside of E&O and/or cyber liability, including property coverage for servers, product liability, utility interruption, and more. Due to the fact that many cloud based businesses seek funding through venture capital, equity and other forms of financing, directors & officers insurance is another integral part of a holistic portfolio. Through an individualized approach, we work closely with our tech clients to assess their exposure and structure programs that address their needs.