Privacy breach: Is your business ready to manage one?

Economical first in Canada to offer affordable, proactive service and coverage to help small and medium-sized Canadian businesses stay in business after a privacy breach

WATERLOO, ON, April 3, 2012 /CNW/ - In today's high-tech workplace, Canadian businesses are facing ever-increasing risks and costs of privacy breaches that can expose sensitive customer information. The risks are everywhere—arising both from inside and outside of Canadian businesses.

In response to the growing need for Canadian businesses to defend against the risks and costs of privacy breaches, Economical Insurance^® has partnered with IDT911, North America's premier identity management and data risk management services provider, to be the first in Canada to offer a proactive solution to help minimize the chance of a breach and help manage breaches when they occur.

A recent study facilitated jointly by Verizon Risk, the U.S. secret service and the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit reported that 96% of studied breaches could have been avoided by the victim business without needing to take difficult or expensive steps.

This report and others like it underscore the importance of privacy breach services protection for Canadian businesses. Having appropriate coverage along with breach preparation and response services can help businesses safeguard reputation, credibility and trust that could be damaged by exposure of consumer data or could lead to business failure.

"Economical is pleased to be a Canadian trendsetter by offering affordable services and coverage to prepare and protect small to mid-sized companies, while covering expenses related to privacy breach," said Dianna Fioravanti, Economical's vice-president of commercial insurance. "This includes tools and assistance to help prevent occurrences, while also supporting and providing financial protection to our commercial policyholders should their data be compromised. This solution sets Economical's business policies apart from the competition."

Along with the protection and services comes 24/7 access to expert guidance on privacy issues, regulatory requirements and steps to take should a breach occur. In the event of a breach, IDT911's team of experts can help assess the event, perform forensics to determine its severity, consult on next steps to address the situation and provide response services.

"Exposure from employee errors, lost or stolen laptops and thumb-drives is on the rise, with the Canadian TELUS study reporting mobile devices as the biggest area of concern," said Matt Cullina, CEO, IDT911. "The focus has shifted to privacy concerns at small and midsize companies which are often unprepared and unprotected. With our assistance, Economical's endorsement provides vulnerable Canadian companies with a comprehensive solution to protect their customers, their business and their reputation."

To learn more about Economical's privacy breach coverage, please contact your insurance broker.

About IDT911

Founded in 2003, IDT911 is North America's premier consultative provider of identity and data risk management, resolution and education services. The company serves 13 million households across North America and provides fraud solutions for a range of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, North America's largest insurance companies, corporate benefit providers, banks and credit unions and membership organizations. Since 2005, the company has helped more than 200,000 businesses manage data breaches. For more information, please visit www.idt911.ca, www.facebook.com/idt911 and www.twitter.com/idt911.

About The Economical Insurance Group

Founded in 1871, The Economical Insurance Group is one of Canada's largest property and casualty insurers, with $1.7 billion in premiums and $4.6 billion in assets. Based in Waterloo, ON, this Canadian-owned and operated group services the insurance needs of more than one million customers through 19 branches and service offices across the country. In 2010, Economical announced its decision to become the first federally-regulated mutual property and casualty insurance company to demutualize. Economical is currently reviewing strategic options and will submit a comprehensive demutualization strategy for mutual policyholder approval after the federal government's completion of regulatory development. For more information, please visit www.economicalinsurance.com.

The Economical Insurance Group's member companies include: Economical Mutual Insurance Company® (including Western General® Farm Division), Waterloo Insurance Company®, Perth Insurance Company®, The Missisquoi Insurance Company®, Federation Insurance Company of Canada™, Family Insurance Solutions and The Mattei Companies.

Doug Maybee, The Economical Insurance Group, Tel: [phone], Cell: 519.404.0989, [email protected] or Kelly Colgan, IDT911, Tel: [phone], [email protected]