Personal Cyber Insurance: A Complete Guide
Personal cyber insurance can help you recover after a cyberattack or other online crime.
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Updated · 6 min read
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Editor & Content Strategist Your "Internet of Things" — that network of smart TVs, refrigerators and thermostats that makes your life easier — poses a security threat. To combat the financial risk of someone hacking into your home network, you may want to consider personal cyber insurance.
What is personal cyber insurance?
Personal cyber insurance can help you recover from data breaches, online fraud, cyberbullying and other cybercrimes. Say you click on a link in an email that installs malicious software on your computer, giving a hacker access to your data. Personal cyber insurance could provide professional IT services to recover your data. It could even help you pay a ransom if the hacker holds your files hostage.
Like other types of insurance, personal cyber insurance won’t keep problems from happening. But it can help you recover if it does.
» MORE: How to prevent credit card fraud
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Answer a few questions to see custom quotes and find the right policy for you. What personal cyber insurance covers
Each personal cyber policy is a little different, but you may see coverage for things like:
- Cyberattacks. If malware infects your laptop or someone hacks into your home network, insurance could cover the cost of restoring systems and data.
- Cyber extortion. Cyber extortion is when someone holds computer access, files or other data hostage in exchange for a ransom. Personal cyber insurance often offers access to professionals who can help you evaluate this type of demand. If they decide the threat is credible, your policy can reimburse you for the ransom payment, up to your coverage limit.
- Online fraud or identity theft. This category may cover things like illegal bank or credit card transfers, counterfeit money, check forgery or phishing attacks. Some insurance companies offer identity theft insurance as a separate add-on.
- Data breaches. Personal cyber insurance may help if someone steals your personal information, publishes it online or posts false information about you. For example, it can pay for legal fees and an IT review to find out what went wrong.
- Cyberbullying. If someone is harassing you or your child online, personal cyber insurance may be able to help. It can reimburse expenses such as counseling, temporary relocation, private tutoring or social media monitoring.
Note that insurance will generally cover only new events. That means you can’t buy a policy the day after someone hacks your computer to help you clean up the problem.
» MORE: How to prevent identity theft
How much does personal cyber insurance cost?
Personal cyber coverage can be affordable, starting at less than $3 a month when you add it to an existing home or renters insurance policy. The cost depends on where you buy the policy and how high of a coverage limit you choose.
How to get personal cyber insurance
Personal cyber coverage is available from some insurers as an optional add-on to a homeowners, renters or condo policy. Alternatively, you can buy a stand-alone personal cyber policy from a company like NFP or BOXX.
Here’s a rundown with a few of your options.
BOXX
If personal cyber coverage isn’t available from your home insurer, consider a stand-alone policy from BOXX. Its Cyberboxx policy covers a wide range of incidents, including cyber extortion, cyber bullying and device hacks. You’ll also get access to the company’s app. It has a password manager and VPN service to help protect your data online.
Chubb
Chubb includes some identity theft and cyber coverage with its standard home insurance policies, which can pay to replace lost documents. To cover other threats, add a Masterpiece Cyber Protection policy. It includes scenarios like cyberbullying, cyber extortion and loss of funds after a cyberattack.
Read our Chubb home insurance review to learn more about the company.
Farmers
Farmers’ Cyber and Identity Shield covers online fraud losses, identity theft recovery and taking down false information published about you on the web. If your child falls victim to cyberbullies, Farmers can pay for counseling and tuition fees. You can also get help with removing ransomware from your computer.
See our Farmers home insurance review for more information on the company.
The Hanover
The Hanover’s personal cyber add-on covers recovery after a cyberattack. It also covers online fraud (including identity theft) and offers advice on cyber extortion. If someone bullies your child online, the coverage can pay for private tutoring, legal expenses and other costs. The Hanover offers coverage limits up to $100,000, plus credit monitoring after a claim.
Read our Hanover home insurance review to learn more about this insurer.
Mercury
Mercury’s Home Cyber Protection endorsement is available as an add-on for homeowners and renters policies. You can choose a $25,000 or $50,000 limit to cover cyberattacks, online fraud and cyber extortion. The company also offers consultations with cyber extortion experts. A $500 deductible applies per occurrence.
Learn more in our Mercury home insurance review.
Nationwide
Nationwide’s identity theft protection comes with software to fight ransomware, spyware and phishing. It can also help with data recovery, device cleanup and home network restoration after a cyberattack. Support agents are available by phone to offer advice.
Check out our Nationwide home insurance review for more information about the insurer.
NFP
Insurance broker NFP offers a standalone personal cyber policy called DigitalShield. It bundles coverage for cyberbullying, identity theft, ransomware and other scenarios. The policy will also pay to restore smart devices or wearables targeted by a cyberattack. Coverage limits start at $25,000.
Pure
Pure, which insures high-value homes, offers a cyber endorsement you can add to its homeowners policy. The add-on can cover both online and offline fraud, plus cyber extortion and cyberattacks. Say a breach of your personal data also exposes other people’s information. Pure will help you notify them and even pay for your legal defense if they sue you.
Safeco
Safeco offers a comprehensive Cyber Protection endorsement. It covers online fraud (including identity theft), cyberattacks, cyberbullying, data breaches and cyber extortion. You can also sign up for credit and dark web monitoring to get alerts if your data falls into the wrong hands. The endorsement is available in some but not all of the states Safeco serves.
Read our Safeco home insurance review for more details about this insurer.
State Farm
You can add State Farm’s personal cyber endorsement to a homeowners, renters or condo insurance policy in most states. It’ll pay for data recovery after a cyberattack and financial loss due to online fraud. It also offers professionals to help you respond to cyber extortion. The coverage costs $25 a year.
Check out our State Farm home insurance review to learn more about the company.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
You may also be able to find personal cyber coverage from smaller regional insurers. Examples include Integrity in the Midwest and Safety in New England. How to prevent cyberattacks
You can reduce the likelihood of an attack by:
- Using two-factor authentication when logging into financial, email, social media and other accounts.
- Downloading software updates as soon as they’re available. (Turning on automatic updates can help with this.)
- Choosing complex passwords that are unique for each account.
- Using a password manager like LastPass or Dashlane.
- Making sure your internet router has a firewall and encrypts your Wi-Fi.
- Using one network for connected appliances and gadgets, and a separate network for computers, tablets and phones. This way, if someone hacks your device network, they won’t be able to access your accounts.
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