Insight: “Selling” your cyber story to PII brokers

The news last week of the intended exit of another Professional Indemnity Insurer from the legal sector insurance market has further eroded the choice for sole practitioners and principals of smaller firms for PII.

Coming just weeks before the traditional renewal in October, the decision leaves many at risk of not being able to secure an alternative before their current premium expires or paying significantly higher premiums to ensure the continuation of the business.

According to Lockton insurers, residential and commercial property and private client work such as wills, probate and estate administration continue to present the greatest risk from a claims point of view, despite downward trend in the last 5 years.

While the sectors in which the firm operates is a significant consideration, arguably the most important factor is the firm’s own risk management policies and procedures.

Who is responsible for risk management within the firm? Is there a clear risk management plan in place?

This will include your client onboarding, IT infrastructure, staff training and monitoring, and increasingly your resistance to cybercrime and fraud.

PI insurers are taking into account a law firm’s readiness for cyberattack as part of their risk assessments.

Cyber security differs from traditional IT service providers, where the focus has been on building connectivity and network infrastructures, and more recently hosted desktops. Cyber security requires firms to implement a range of technical and cultural competencies to protect their business, complementing existing installations.

Being more cyber savvy not only starts to protect your firm from the risks of cyber fraud, impersonation, funds transfer fraud, malware and ransomware attacks and hacking; you can “sell” your cyber story to your PII broker to support your proposal, demonstrating your firm is better equipped to deal with the challenges posed by the increasing sophistication of the modern day fraudster.

For more information about how to start your cyber risk journey, selling your cyber risk story to PI insurers, and taking your protection to the next level, contact Lawyer Checker, call 0800 133 7127 or email sales@lawyerchecker.co.uk

Since becoming Head of IT with Lawyer Checker and the Practical Vision Network, Jen has immersed herself in finding practical cyber security solutions to help protect the legal sector. Committed to safeguarding law firms from cyber attacks, Jen has developed and enhanced her extensive experience by becoming an accredited and certified ISO 27001 lead auditor, and Cyber Essentials Assessor.