The Knowledge
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4th July 2023New Travelers product protects against cyber stalking
So many aspects of our lives have migrated online in the past couple of years, blurring boundaries that once existed between people. High-profile individuals such as celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, social media influencers and others may reach a wider audience than they intended or desired, whilst becoming more accessible to the broader population than ever before. Even individuals who live less-high-profile lives can still be vulnerable to risks that the internet can magnify.
“Fixated threat” behaviours such as blackmail, cyberstalking and extortion have become more common in this environment – and online connections can make such threats easier to carry out. Indeed, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a charity that helps victims of stalking and runs the National Stalking Helpline, reported recently that 100 percent of the stalking cases reported to them include a cyber element – up from 80 percent in 2019.
Draft legislation in the form of the ‘Online Safety Bill’ is currently going through the House of Lords, this will eventually bring in new protections for children and adults online.
Cover in response to broker demand
As these threats have emerged, brokers have approached us about how they can best protect their clients against the online threats they face. Travelers developed a new Fixated Threat Response policy to fill the insurance gap – and the cover is a first in the marketplace.
When fixated threat behaviours are ignored, they can cause long-term trauma to a person, disrupting their life and posing other problems that are difficult to fix. Consider the case of the former BBC local radio presenter Alex Belfield, who was sentenced to more than five years in prison after a court found he had “weaponised the internet” in online attacks against multiple people over the course of nearly a decade, causing his targets serious alarm and distress. Less-well-known people
are targeted too: we have observed cases involving high-net-worth individuals who were blackmailed and threatened with reputational harm by former partners, as well as a case involving a corporate chairman who was stalked by an aggrieved customer.
We designed our Fixated Threat Response cover to protect your clients, as well as their loved ones and employees, from these risks, and to prevent or contain the reputational damage and financial loss that can result. Specifically, the policy responds to events including blackmail, cyberstalking, disappearance, extortion, stalking and threat, whilst providing your clients with financial indemnity and immediate access to our partners SPS Global and Theseus Risk Management, seasoned experts in the field of threat management. Together, and with input from brokers, we have designed cover that can help address the exposures that increasingly need protection in an online age. As our use of the internet evolves, security against its risks must evolve too.
Nicola La Porte is an Associate Underwriter on the Crisis Management team at Travelers Europe. For more information on how Fixated Threat Response cover may help protect your clients, contact [email protected]
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