Saga now does cyber crime insurance – but how does it work and it is worth it?
COMPUTER hacking could happen to anyone at anytime - but you can now buy insurance to protect you against dangerous cyber attacks, courtesy of Saga.
The insurance giant for the over-50s says it is the first home insurer to launch this kind of personal cyber crime cover - but is it really worth buying?
Malware and ransomware attacks can steal your personal information, drain your bank accounts, damage your devices and leave you open to identity fraud.
Saga’s Personal Cybercrime cover - which is included in the £30 fixed-price legal expenses add-on to its home insurance policy - says it will reimburse any money stolen from your bank accounts.
It will also restore your devices back to the state they were in before any attack, where possible.
Experts will offer you advice about how to protect yourself against hackers, frauds, and scams, and it will also cover the cost of a 12-month subscription to a credit-monitoring service that can alert you when you are at risk of a cyber attack.
He said: “It’s great to see insurance providers are recognising that cyber crime poses a real threat to consumers and the crisis response, incident management and advice element of Saga’s cyber crime cover extension may prove invaluable to some people.
";That said, having an insurance policy which covers cyber crime shouldn’t lure you into a false sense of security.
"It’s important that consumers educate and protect themselves from cyber crime attacks, ensuring they have complex online passwords and pins that are frequently changed and never give out their bank details over the phone or on unsecure websites.
2. RESET YOUR PASSWORDS: Hackers could have access to your accounts so lock them out again by changing passwords. Make sure they are strong, between eight to 10 random characters, with lower and uppercase letters, numbers and symbols if possible. Try not to use duplicate passwords as if one address has been breached, many accounts could be. You can use a password management tool if, like most people, you struggle to keep track of passwords for multiple accounts. There are dozens to choose from: some are free, while some you have to pay for.
3. CHECK YOUR ACCOUNTS: Look for and log any payments on your accounts that you did not make.
4. CONTACT YOUR BANK: Do this as soon as you think your credit card or bank details may have been compromised. Most banks have a dedicated phone line for reporting fraud.
5. CHASE REIMBURSEMENT: Your bank must automatically reimburse you any funds that have been taken as a result of fraud, unless it can prove you were acting fraudulently or negligently, didn't contact them before 13 months had passed since the incident, or it can prove you authorised the transactions. It must also reimburse any fees incurred as a result of the fraudulent payments. This is also true if you have inadvertently given out your personal details as the target of a scam.
6. IF YOUR BANK DOESN'T REIMBURSE: You must ask for a final letter of deadlock and make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsmen Services, which will make an impartial decision on refunding your cash. You can submit a claim online free on its . If successful, your bank will reimburse you. If not, you can take your claim to court.
7. CONTACT INSURERS: If your home insurance policy covers cyber attacks, contact your insurers to make a claim, if needed.
But unlike Saga, they don't cover financial loss or legal action.
If you have been considering cover for legal expenses, then Saga's add-on may be enticing if you are a customer already.
But if not, then there are some standalone providers of cyber crime insurance, such as Blackfriars' Personal Cyber Crime Insurance and Hiscox.
Even without cyber crime insurance, your bank should refund you immediately if you have been a victim of fraud.
That is, unless it has evidence you authorised any of the transactions, told them after 13 months, or acted fraudulently or negligently.
You could also put in place extra security measures, such as keeping your software regularly updated, backing up your files, using strong passwords, and never giving out your personal details to cold callers or potential scammers pretending to be from your bank.
Cyber attacks are a serious threat in the UK, with more than £2 billion stolen from people’s bank and credit card accounts in the last year, according to money comparison website comparethemarket.com.
That’s an average of £333 per person, which has risen by 38 per cent (£233) since last year, it reports.
One in 10 people have now been victims of debit and credit card fraud - about 4.7 million people in the UK, comparethemarket.com says.
Last month, we revealed that loyal customers pay £132 more on their home insurance than those who shop around.
We also found out the best time to buy home insurance and how it could cut 20 per cent off your bill.
You can find out all about home insurance and how to snag the best deal with our handy guide.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.