Cybercoverage for Cyber-Risks: An Overview of Insurers' Responses to the Perils of E-Commerce

Abstract

With nearly seven percent of the world's population currently online and e-commerce forecast to hit $6.8 trillion by 2004, one need not be Nostradamus to predict that the Internet means great change for all industries--including the insurance industry. Presently, however, the proverbial cart is leading the horse as the insurance industry struggles to develop strategies to quantify, cover, and contain "cyber-risks." Policyholders also face new challenges as they confront the possibility that their traditional insurance coverages are woefully inadequate either to secure their electronic and intellectual property assets or to guard against their potential e-commerce liabilities to third parties.

Keywords: insurance law, e-commerce, online commerce, insurance