Data loss can be devastating for a business; whether it’s customer details, legal contracts or documentation created by staff, a corrupt hard drive or a network failure, this kind of unexpected problem can spell an expensive outlay for a company. This is then often followed by concerns regarding the likelihood of a lack of business continuity until the data is recovered and general challenges of how to get the company back on its feet.
Many businesses look to their insurer for financial recompense to fund the data recovery work, but there are many who find that they aren’t adequately covered and in some cases, there’s nothing in place at all for when disaster strikes.
Small businesses and home insurance
If you are a start-up enterprise and you work from home, don’t automatically think that your home insurance policy will cover your business activities. There’s very little chance that a provider will cover you for data loss through a domestic buildings and contents policy so ensure you have business insurance in place from the start – even if your office is the table in your kitchen.
Check the policy before you buy
If you believe data loss is already a feature of your insurance policy, now is the time to check the terms and conditions of what will be paid out for and what will not. Many commercial insurance policies do include data loss but the wording may not be particularly exhaustive; if you aren’t satisfied that your needs are covered, speak to your agent to find out the exact nature of their product. Non-specific wording could leave you high and dry if you need data recovery and your insurer won’t substantiate your claim.
An area of the policy to read in detail is natural disaster. Look for any caveats, particularly if you are located in a vulnerable geographical location such as next to a river where flooding is more likely.
It’s vital that you don’t presume that your business insurance policy automatically includes data loss cover. Likewise, some policies don’t cover the cost of recovering the data but will approve a claim for business continuity.
Making a claim
If you have a data loss incident and you need to make a claim, be ready for a number of detailed questions from your insurer. They will want to know exactly what happened, the way the data had been stored before the loss and the kind of data you were storing. With this in mind, the best plan is to have adequate data protection in place now rather than thinking it’s not something you’ll ever have to face; if your insurer discovers you weren’t adequately protected then there’s every chance they won’t make any kind of payment to you.
Whatever the circumstances of the data loss, your first port of call as part of any claim will be the need for a technical report. Ideally, use the skills and expertise of an independent data recover company such as Data Recovery Specialists which can give an unbiased opinion of what has taken place and the work needed to recover the data.