To address this, Covéa Insurance is providing a ‘cyber support line’ free of charge to customers with its home insurance with effect from 1st December 2018. In the event of a cyber incident, families will be able to obtain 24-hour support and advice about what to do, including how to restore personal equipment that has been hacked, virus removal, dealing with ransomware and what to do if there has been financial loss.
In addition, the cyber support line will collect data about incidents which the company believes will provide valuable insight into trends, enabling it to assess the future need for cyber covers and the development of products to meet them.
Speaking about the findings of the research, Product & Proposition Manager at Covéa Insurance, Donna Baker said: “When looking at the requirements of customers, it’s important to understand both their current and future needs. To address risks created by the increased use of connected devices in the home, we’ve already introduced protection for cyber-bullying and cyber-crimes such as fraud, identity theft and hacking on our high net worth home insurance products. However, it’s clear from the research findings that there’s a much broader need for support for families around online activity. The children in our focus groups were all hugely internet savvy, but what’s concerning is that their main source of information and advice about problems they faced online was their friends.”
Charlotte Robertson of Digital Awareness UK specialises in delivering workshops to schools, pupils and parents on online safety. In response to these findings she says: “There’s huge anxiety amongst parents and in schools about the best way to protect children online. One of the issues we face is that most children are extremely savvy when it comes to the use of the internet and social media in particular, making it difficult for parents to offer them help and guidance. Evidence suggests that the knowledge gap is widening, we therefore believe it's critical that parents are equipped with the knowledge needed to improve their understanding of how children can enjoy using the internet safely.”
Donna Baker agreed saying “All the children in our focus groups had their own smart phones, with the ability to access the internet routinely on a range of connected devices. Their extensive online activity and relaxed approach clearly increases their exposure to cyber risks and underlines the need for specialist support to help deal with any crises.”
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