There has been very little in the history of the world that has revolutionized the world so greatly and as quickly as the Internet. The Internet has allowed anyone and everyone with a computer to access information from anywhere in the world, and has allowed everyone to create their own content have it accessible to anyone in the world. In a perfect world, there would be no limitations on the greatness, which this could enable. Doctors, scientists, researchers, and philosophers from anywhere in the world has the ability to converse with colleagues on the other side of the world. Over our lifetime the world has become a lot smaller.

However, doctors and scientist striving to better the world are not the only ones with access. There are plenty of people on the Internet with malicious intent. Everyone has heard stories of hackers gaining access to different websites and obtaining private information, and holding companies hostage with their abilities.

The Internet has also created a whole new venue for companies and individuals to make careless, but costly mistakes. These mistakes when not made on the Internet like a “personal or advertising injury” have usually been covered by insurance in a Commercial General Liability Policy. However, many general liability insurance policies exclude a company’s actions on the Internet.

Internet liability insurance covers very specific wrongful acts as defined by the policy forms:

·        Infringement or unauthorized use of any advertising material, copyright, slogan, trademark, ect through the internet.

·        Failure to protect private or confidential information of others from unauthorized access on or through the Internet.

·        Making known to any person or organization material that violates a person or organizations right to privacy or publicity right.

·         Plagiarism or unauthorized use of a literary or artistic format, character, or performance through the Internet.

·           Failure to prevent the transmission of a computer virus to authorized users of your website or any of your private communication networks such as customers, suppliers, or supporters, on or through the Internet.

Take a second to digest that last bullet point. As protection software advances as viruses advance, can you imagine that there may be an instance that a company could get sued for not properly updating their virus protection, thus causing everyone that legitimately uses the site to download a computer virus.  Is there anyway you can be 100% that a hacker will not install a virus on your website?

When purchasing this relatively new insurance product you must make sure of certain things. First, that your agent knows what he’s talking about is getting you the correct coverage. Secondly, make sure that the territory definition is global. If it is not, what will protect you form someone in Indian or China accessing your site and bringing suit against you in the US?

Lastly, you need to make sure that the company that is providing your Internet liability insurance is adequate. You need know, how long have they been providing technology insurance? How long have they been in business? What is their A.M. Best rating? Are they admitted? These are all key questions to consider when purchasing Internet liability insurance. But do not let this scare you away from protecting your company’s assets from this immerging threat.  You know that the Internet is dangerous, but it can be a great tool that can grow your company like the greats of Google, and Yahoo, just make sure your properly protected.