Aviva launches new cyber cover for micro-SMEs

Aviva has launched a new cyber insurance policy that will offer breach response services to micro-small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), a statement released today (24 October 2023) said.

Called Cyber Respond, the product has been designed for very small SMEs who are exposed to attacks, but do not have the resources or capability to deal with an incident.

The new cover will protect those firms that want the security a cyber policy provides, but do not need the all-inclusive covers aimed at larger businesses.

Aviva has also waived the excess to further reduce costs for micro-SMEs, while cover will start from £50.

“Micro-SMEs face similar cyber risks to other businesses, although they have fewer IT and financial resources to protect themselves,” Stephen Ridley, head of cyber at Aviva, said.

“Aviva’s Cyber Respond is designed to help very small businesses become more cyber resilient, providing an extra emergency service that can respond quickly in the event of a cyber incident.

“By streamlining the policy to reflect the needs of micro-SMEs – without the extras that are aimed at larger businesses – we’re also able to offer the policy at a more affordable price.”

Help on offer

This came after brokers told Insurance Times that one of the biggest emerging protection gaps they feel SMEs were facing was around cyber risk.

And according to the government’s 2023 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which was published earlier this year (13 April 2023), cyber attacks were costing businesses an average of £15,300 in losses.

To help small firms if a cyber attacks occurs, the new policy will provide the same level of incident response as Aviva’s existing digital product, Cyber Complete, which is aimed at SMEs with up to £50m turnover.

This means it will come with a 24/7 telephone helpline, an identity fraud monitoring service and 12 months of credit monitoring services and reputation management services to minimise adverse publicity following a loss.

The policy also provides a telephone-based counselling service to help small business owners who may be struggling with their mental health in the wake of a cyber event.

The product will be available to brokers from the end of October on Fast Trade, Aviva’s trading platform, as well as Acturis eTrade.

“Brokers will play a critical role in helping micro-SMEs build their cyber resilience,” Ridley said.

“That’s why we’ve launched our own broker certification programme, giving brokers the necessary tools to help their customers protect themselves from the growing risk of cyber-attacks.”