Cyberbullying? Insurance covers it

An insurance tech startup, Waffle, has pioneered a cyber protection offering that covers cyberbullying and other cyber risks such as identity theft or extortion. The policies are intended to help victims recoup the costs associated with legal fees, mental health services, mentoring to cover the costs of missing school, or even changing schools if bullying has proved severe enough to force one student to move to a new school. Personal cyber insurance is still a world to be developed: only about 10% of US consumers claim to have one that protects them from cyber attacks and 74% say they are unwilling to pay more for cyber coverage. This at least according to a 2019 survey commissioned by the Insurance Information Institute. But things are changing rapidly, and insurance coverage for phising and other fraud, as well as cyberbullying damages are starting to take shape with huge prospects. Chubb insurance reveals that, according to an internal report, more than half of teens in the US have been bullied online and over 25% have been bullied repeatedly. Furthermore, more than half of victims do not report to their parents when cyberbullying occurs, also because 80% of young people think that bullying online is more manageable than bullying in person. , Beazley, Chubb, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual Insurance and Travelers joined in a consortium that launched CyberAcuView, a research and coordination firm “dedicated to improving cyber risk mitigation efforts across the insurance industry.” The consortium explained in a note that it intends to develop industry best practices to improve cyber risk resilience as well as engage directly with regulators, law enforcement and other security agencies to tackle cybercrime. . And, above all, to prepare specific cyber policies and improve market efficiency, as well as analyze industry trends to produce knowledge and sensitivity on cyber attacks and their causes. CyberAcuView CEO Mark Camillo clarified: “The IT landscape continues to evolve with coordinated attacks that become more frequent and disruptive. The combination of resources from across the insurance industry will enable us to better understand cyber trends, anticipate and potentially mitigate future attacks, and help improve overall cyber resilience. ”Chubb also released some tips to help protect their children in these occasions, advice that all pass from seeking a dialogue: “Encourage your children to confide in you about what they see online and with whom they are communicating. If they don’t feel comfortable telling you, encourage them to confide in another adult they trust. Tell them that if they have been victims, they will not be punished and reassure them that being bullied is not their fault. ” In addition to setting limits and boundaries: “With the use of mobile phones and tablets from the first years of life, it is more important than ever to set clear rules on when your children can start using mobile devices without you seeing exactly what they do. TeenSafe suggests starting using an iPad or tablet at the age of 6-9 and a mobile phone with direct monitoring at the age of 10-12 ”.