Is your insurance coverage adequate for when — not if — your company gets hacked?

These days there are two kind of companies: those that have been hacked, and those who don't yet know they've been hacked.

In 2015, the Identity Theft Resource Center tracked 781 total breaches that exposed more than 169 million personal data records. Those Cyber crimes continue to be very costly for organizations. The average cost of Cyber crimes grew to $15 million in 2015, according to a recent survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute, a privacy, data protection and information security consulting firm. That's a 19% increase over the previous year, and an 82% increase in the six years the survey has been taken.

Cyber insurance that offers comprehensive coverage and syncs with other coverages can help mitigate risk from payment card fraud, loss of personal information, spying, malware and other problems.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that many companies don't take advantage of available Cyber insurance policies because they don't understand the risks involved in a Cyber attack and don't understand the value of insurance coverage.

Therefore, it's important to understand the scope of a company's Cyber exposure and the myriad requirements for risk management.

Typically, Cyber security insurance is separate from general liability and property insurance policies. The best Cyber insurance supports a response across the entire enterprise including data and intellectual property destruction or theft, business interruption, public relations, victim notification, forensics and Cyber incident management. A well-crafted blended approach is key to addressing a company’s total insurance needs.

As the Cyber insurance market develops, the industry is researching potential discounts for mitigation efforts, such as adopting best security practices or using specific security technologies and practices.

When it comes to Cyber insurance, don't cut corners. Seek world-class Cyber coverage that provides financial compensation for the various types of economic damage that may result from a data breach, but also connect with a carrier that offers robust loss control services to understand how to limit Cyber risk and how to successfully recover from a breach.

Gary Wollenhaupt, freelance writer, Contently. You can reach Wollenhaupt via e-mail at gary@garywrites.com.