More than one in three companies in the U.S. now have data breach insurance, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
In the past year, sales of cyber-insurance policies to hospitals, banks and other organizations that store and transmit private consumer data have increased 20 percent, according to the report.
South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., purchased a policy shortly after a data breach compromised the information of more than 800,000 patients and led to a $750,000 settlement. Partners Healthcare in Boston bought a policy in 2007, which paid off when a $1 million settlement with HHS that resulted from patient records being left on a commuter train was covered by the policy, according to the report.
"It was effective," Tim Murray, Partners' director of risk management, told the Globe.
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