Does your club collect and store sensitive, confidential financial information and data? What about information about your customers or employees, such as credit card information, social security numbers, birthdates, health insurance information or other health-related details? If so, how are you storing this information? You are not alone if your data is backed up to the cloud and accessible using laptops, smartphones or tablets, but you have a duty to protect the privacy of that information, whether it is digitally or physically stored.
Cyber insurance is designed to protect a business in the event of a data breach. A quality cyber insurance policy provides protection options for data privacy exposures your club faces if you experience a data breach. Your insurance program should also provide options to cover losses to your club’s computer systems and data as a result of computer attacks.
Cyber risk is common to nearly all businesses in this digitally connected age, yet most club owners are not aware of their potential vulnerabilities to a data breach. Health clubs rely on technology to access and manage data used in daily operations. Criminals know your computers are important and are increasingly using malware or ransomware to attack fitness operations.
The most common attacks succeed when an unsuspecting recipient clicks on an infected link or opens an infected attachment in an email. Your business systems and data, whether electronic or on paper, need protection from cyberattacks that can disrupt operations, add to your costs and harm your club’s customer relationships and reputation.
Keep in mind cyberattacks are not exclusively the work of criminal hackers. Your own employees could unintentionally or purposefully cause a breach by connecting to your server using a device infected with a virus or other malware, resulting in stolen records — including credit card information. Regardless of the cause, once your data is breached, your club may be held responsible and may incur expenses to restore your data and notify affected customers, not to mention the cost to repair your club’s reputation.
Jayson Scott has 14 years of experience as a commercial lines underwriter at The Cincinnati Insurance Company. Since 2014, he has supported Cincinnati’s growing Fitness, Sports & Recreation program, initially as the program’s dedicated specialist and now as national program director. For more information, contact Jay at jayson_scott@cinfin.com or 513.603.5885. Please visit cinfin.com/fitness-sports for more information.
*This loss control information is advisory only. The author assumes no responsibility for management or control of loss control activities. Not all exposures are identified in this article.
