Mentor Article

Laptop Theft is a Growing Business Problem

Gary Sorenson, Insurance Brokers of Minnesota

Forester Research reports that businesses with more than 1,000 employees give laptop computers to approximately 30% of their staff.  Dell reports that 2007 was the first year its revenue from notebooks was greater than that from desktop computers and attributes most of this trend to the corporate PC market.

The truly mobile workstation has officially arrived—but not without warts.  According to The Wall Street Journal, millions of laptops are lost or stolen annually, with only one in 20 being found or returned.  About 80% of businesses report losing one or more laptops containing sensitive information each year.

Many commercial general liability (CGL) policies, the most common form of business liability insurance, do not cover damages incurred by a third party ensuing from the loss or theft of an insured’s laptop.  For example, the CGL doesn’t cover damages claimed by victims whose personal information is pulled from a stolen laptop and sold to identity thieves.

The good news is that you have options.  Some CGL policies can be amended to offer limited coverage for these types of liability losses.  Also available are cyber liability insurance policies, which are tailored for losses to and generated by computer use.

If you utilize laptops in your business, you may have special insurance needs.  For more information, call our service team today.

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