Cyber insurance for charities & nonprofits

Why do charities need cyber insurance?

You’ll likely have seen the startling statistics. Almost a quarter of charities, and over half of high-income charities, were hit by cyber-attacks in 2023 alone.

Without cyber insurance, you’d have to shoulder the financial burden yourself.

That means paying for someone to fix your systems. Or, if you have one, asking your in-house team to work some overtime.

And upgrading what you have in place so there’s less chance it’ll help again.

You’d also have to pay for legal help. Dealing with the ICO, organising compensation payments if there’s been a data breach, and figuring out what to do next.

Not to mention the work your team will have to inform your donors and trustees.

With the knowledge that more and more cybercriminals are targeting charities, can you afford not to have cyber insurance?

Find out more about how cybercrime can impact charities and nonprofits.

What does cyber liability insurance cover charities for?

Cyber insurance for charities provides the money, time, and expertise required to stop a cyber-attack, sort out the consequences, and get your charity back to operating normally.

It covers human error, lost income, and financial crime. As well as other costs associated with data breaches.

Plus, it pays IT forensics, data retrieval, and security fixes. So, your systems will be better prepared in the future. And you won’t have to go back to square one.

Specifically, cyber insurance covers:

Data breaches. This is where personal or commercial information you store is accessed illegally. Cyber insurance covers the cost of regulatory investigations, any resulting lawsuits, and pays to inform people whose data has been stolen or accessed.

Cyber-attacks. Any kind of digital attack against your charity.

Business interruption. The loss of income your charity might suffer due to a cyber-attack or data breach.

Reputation damage. Covers the costs of a helpline to help you inform your supporters and trustees.

Financial crime and fraud. If someone who has access to your systems is tricked into transferring money or goods to a criminal.

Human error. When a mistake leads to a data breach or cyber-attack. Such as a social engineering attack. Here’s some more information on social engineering insurance.

Find out more about cyber insurance.

Who needs charity cyber insurance?

If your charity uses technology or stores data, then cyber insurance is a great idea. No matter the size of your charity, you’re vulnerable to an attack if you rely on technology to function day-to-day.

You could also be caught out by a member of your team making an error. Which could easily lead to a cyber-attack or data breach.

The introduction of GDPR and a strengthening Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) make it more important than ever to protect your charity. And be prepared for a data breach.

Cyber insurance is a must-have if you:

• Rely on computers for daily tasks
• Use email to communicate
• Have a website
• Store trustee, donor, or employee information digitally
• Receive donations or make payments electronically
• Use any cloud-based internet services.

Find out more about who needs cyber insurance.

How much does charity cyber liability insurance cost?

The cost of charity cyber insurance varies depending on many different things, including:

• What your charity does. For example, a large mental health charity stores and sends a lot of donor and service user data. So, their risk would be a lot higher than a smaller, local charity which focuses on wildlife or ecological preservation.
• The size of your charity. Larger charities will be riskier to insure than smaller ones, so should expect to pay more for their insurance.
• How much data you store. This goes hand-in-hand with the above two points. As the more data you store, the bigger a target you are for cybercriminals. So, your insurance will be more expensive.

Even small, local charities would benefit from cyber insurance. As an attack or breach at that level could be disastrous for a charity.

Still not convinced? Find out how a data breach can affect a small business.

What other types of insurance does my charity need?

In a perfect world, you’d spend all day, every day trying to achieve your charity’s mission. Without any other care in the world.

Unfortunately, thing don’t work like that. You’re bound to face bumps along the way that’ll force you to tackle problems that are far departed from your mission.

Different kinds of insurance cover can help make those problems far easier to deal with, freeing you up to focus on what really matters. At the very least, your charity should have:

• Public liability insurance. For when a member of the public is injured, or their property is damaged, and it’s your fault. This could be due to a service you run, an event you’ve organised, or at your premises.
• Trustee indemnity insurance. Covers you if someone says you’re responsible for a wrongful act. Like breach of trust, breach of duty, negligence, or defamation.
• Employers’ liability insurance. A legal requirement if you have any employees or volunteers. It covers you if someone working for you is injured or becomes sick because of that work.

Want to find out more? Have a read of our simple guide to charity insurance.

Why should I buy my insurance from you?

It’s simple, really. We’re charity insurance experts. We know what you need to protect your charity, and the best way to get it.

We’ve also banned all that boring insurance jargon. So, you can spend less time deciphering gibberish and more time focusing on your charity.

You won’t find a call centre or phone menu in sight, either. If you give us a ring, you’ll get through to a friendly advisor who can help. And answer any questions you have.

Plus, you get a neat ‘I’m insured’ badge for your website, and money each time you recommend us.

Have a read what our customers say about us, if you’re still not convinced. After all, they’re the best people to hear from.