PRODUCT: Family CyberEdge

COMPANY: American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Underwritten by a member company of AIG.

BEST RATING: A (Excellent)

AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available through AIG-appointed agents and brokers.

FOCUS: An individual clicks on an email attachment they believe a friend forwarded. But the message actually came from cybercriminals who proceed to take over the individual’s laptop, turning on the camera and taking screenshots of their email account.

A doctor receives notice that the files on their personal computer are encrypted, and is instructed to pay the equivalent of $1,000 in bitcoins within 24 hours in order to prevent the decryption key from being destroyedalong with thousands of files.

A cyberbully creates a defamatory blog about a teenager who is going through the college admissions process. The blog surfaces during customary web searches of potential candidates.

These types of situations are becoming more common in the personal lines segment, says Jerry Hourihan, president, AIG Private Client Group, a division of the member companies of AIG, for the U.S. and Canada.

Consider that last year, cyberattacks involving ransomware—in which cybercriminals use malicious software to encrypt a user’s data, then extort money to unencrypt it—increased 50%, according to a report from Verizon Communications, Inc. Similarly, a fifth of all malware raids began with a phishing email in 2016, compared to less than one in 10 the year before.

AIG responds to this growing personal lines exposure with Family CyberEdge, a new product that provides high net-worth individuals with coverage for data restoration, extortion and crisis management related to a cyberattack, as well as cyberbullying incidents.

In addition to these first-party coverages and automatic credit monitoring, the product also involves partnerships with K2 Intelligence and CyberScout, which “help our most complex clients understand what their vulnerabilities are and eliminate them so they never have to get in a difficult situation related to a cyberattack,” Hourihan explains.

AIG has more than two decades of experience in the commercial cyber space. Currently, the company delivers cyber insurance and risk management to more than 20,000 commercial clients and ID theft services to more than 22 million individuals.

“We were able to leverage the experience, expertise and coverage of our commercial coverage counterparts, and bring that to bear on the high net-worth market segment,” Hourihan says of Family CyberEdge. “And we believe we have the most meaningful coverage and risk management services out there. Many of the other offers are rather thin when it comes to the actual coverages.”

COVERAGE DETAILS: Family CyberEdge features four first-party coverages: data restoration, cyber extortion, crisis management and cyberbullying. All provide access to professional cyber consultants who can assist in managing the fallout from a personal cyberattack.

Specifically, data restoration coverage reimburses insureds for the costs associated with restoring data to a device after it sustains a cyberattack. In the event that an insured falls victim to a cyber extortion situation after unsuspectingly downloading ransomware on a device, cyber extortion coverage helps secure the ransom in a wide range of cryptocurrencies, then reimburses ransom costs.

Crisis management coverage reimburses the costs of working with a crisis, security, public relations or specialty legal consultant in order to keep an insured’s reputation intact in the event that a cyberattack exposes potentially harmful personal information. Cyberbullying coverage provides protection when an insured’s child is victimized by cyberbullying, and reimburses costs associated with securing the family’s safety, completing a forensic analysis to identify the bully, prosecuting the bully and even re-enrolling the child in a different school.

Family CyberEdge also includes automatic credit monitoring in the aftermath of a cyberattack for up to two family members per household, through AIG’s identity service provider CyberScout. Monitoring draws from three credit bureaus, public and court records, and additional personal data records. Insureds don’t need to have a claim in order to benefit from this layer of protection.

UNDERWRITING: Family CyberEdge is available as an endorsement to AIG’s homeowners product. Like many of AIG’s coverages, the product is customizable to fit a client’s specific desires. Limits are available from $50,000 to $250,000 in all four coverage areas. No deductible is required, except for data restoration coverage, which requires a minimum deductible of $1,000. Coverage extends to events discovered during the policy term or no later than 30 days past its expiration.

MINIMUM PREMIUM: None.

TARGET: The upper end of the high net-worth demographic, including high-profile individuals, business owners, C-suite executives and anyone who has increasingly complex cyber exposures that “take on commercial traits,” Hourihan says.

COVERAGE TERRITORY: Worldwide. Family CyberEdge is currently available in CO, CT, ID, IL, IN, KY, MO, NJ, NY, OH, SC, TN and TX.

CONTACT: Anna M. Brusco, vice president, AIG Private Client Group; 175 Water Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10038; 212-458-8855.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.