Worried about cyber attacks? Bajaj launches new policy for customers

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance on Thursday launched ‘Individual Cyber Safe’ policy for providing coverage to customers who fall victim to cyber attacks, cyber extortion, and cyber bullying. The sum insured for the policy ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore. However, the premium rates and multiple plans under the policy will be declared by the insurance company in a few days. 

The policy will provide comprehensive protection against various cyber risks such as identity theft, malware attack, phishing, e-mail spoofing, cyber extortion and cyber stalking, among others. It will also cover financial loss resulting from being an innocent victim of e-mail spoofing and phishing, losses and expenses related to defence and prosecution cost related to identity theft, IT theft loss, restoration cost to retrieve or reinstall data or computer program damaged by the entry of the malware. 

It also provides coverage for expenses incurred on counselling services treatment, claim for damages against third party for privacy breach and data breach, cyber extortion loss and transportation for attending court summons. 

The policy will not cover anything that the customer does intentionally through the internet, in terms of giving any opinion or in terms of participating in the debates and so on, which leads to defamation suits or other exigencies. 

Before buying the policy, individuals need to go through an on-board exercise which will capture certain details of policyholders like usage of internet, how much data do they download, and even average data usage on the internet. The number of devices used by the policy holder and age would also be a critical factor.

“In an increasingly connected digital world,   the amount of personal data being generated, transmitted, and stored on to various digital devices is growing at an exponential rate. The critical nature of this data and the complexity of the systems that support its transmission and use, have created a gamut of cyber risks. Therefore, with cyber-attacks and threats becoming more sophisticated and prevalent, at Bajaj Allianz we identified the need for a cyber-Insurance cover for Individuals,” Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said.