Cyber Insurance

“The network is down!”

Yikes! Have those four words ever created panic and anxiety at your workplace? It is a legitimate concern since the computer network system is the backbone of all small businesses, including nonprofits. Think of all the files you use on your computer on a daily basis. Emails, contracts, donation forms, tax information, donor databases – these are the electronic documents, files and applications your nonprofit uses regularly.

When your network is down, or when you have other major computer issues, no work can get done – period! Not only can your valuable data not be accessed, but also your employees cannot do their normal tasks, throwing a giant wrench into your important schedules and delaying deadlines.

In addition to equipment and power outages, there are also sneaky cyber villains who would love to have their hot little hands all over your donors’ and employees’ sensitive data! The damage done through security breaches can occur in a short time but it can take weeks or months to undo.

The good news is that cyber risk can – and should definitely – be insured! Since information technology is so vital to all of our amazing nonprofit clients, one of the most important Community First goals is sharing the word about cyber insurance.

First, let’s talk a little about what cyber insurance is. The purpose for this insurance is to protect your nonprofit against the three biggest types of cyber risks:

Privacy Risk – risk of exposing sensitive information such as donation, tax and Human Resources records

Information Risk – risk of losing years of captured and curated data

Operational Risk – risk of being left unable to work due to outages or issues with equipment, software, and hardware

What cyber insurance does for your nonprofit is protect against these primary risks through five distinct insuring agreements. These agreements include protection related to:

• Privacy
• Interruption to your business
• Network security
• Media liability
• Errors and omissions

We at Community First want you as a nonprofit to understand that your nonprofit is actually a business! And as a result, your operation should resemble that of a small business.

You may be thinking, “But wait, we are actually pretty different from a small business!” Yes, there are some major differences, including that your nonprofit is tax-exempt, and your shareholders or trustees don’t receive a profit. Your objective is to support a cause such as a medical need, a community need, or something that a for-profit business can’t provide in the same way. And that’s why your patrons, supporters and raving fans love your nonprofit!

But imagine that you wake up tomorrow and you walk into chaos at your nonprofit. There is a huge issue and your network is down all day. You have a vital and time-sensitive meeting with your board of directors and you can’t connect to your internet to show the slide deck. And without access to the slide deck, you have trouble sharing the decision with the board for which you need approval immediately! Not only that, your employees can’t do their work and are sitting and staring at you, looking for something to do. And then your IT person tell you they are suspicious that the network was hacked, and think all of your secure donor info could be leaked on the internet! Imagine this one day could cause a huge public relations fiasco on top of lost hours and donations, and could take multiple months to address.

A total nightmare scenario, right?

Please keep in mind that while people love nonprofits, if their information were to be stolen, they will hold the nonprofit responsible for their loss and inconvenience just like they would any other business.

We, your friends here at Community First, want to keep your data, your reputation, and your daily operations safe and secure! Reach out to Jimmy Comer at Community First and set up an appointment today to discuss cyber insurance, and how it can save your nonprofit from potential harm and headaches.