Will Your Insurance Policy Cover Data Recovery Services?
At some point in our lives, most of us have accidentally wiped our hard drive. All of the important photos and files you had, gone. Maybe the kids got onto the laptop unsupervised or perhaps you just accidentally deleted the wrong thing. Whatever the reason, the first call to action is to find a data recovery specialist that can help you get your files back. However, sometimes data recovery can be a very expensive process. Unfortunately, data recovery specialists understand how valuable their service is and they price it accordingly. The beauty of data recovery is that it is largely automatic, although the skills and knowledge involved in advanced data recovery should not be under appreciated. If you just need to recover some files that you accidentally deleted from the hard drive on your home computer or laptop, you may well be able to recover them yourself if you use the right tools.
However, more advanced data recovery is more in depth and will require the involvement of a specialist. Businesses like Secure Data Recovery can recover data in an emergency, but sometimes these services can become expensive.
Within a business context it is easy to understand why data might be insured, but what about your personal data? We will consider both personal and business insurance types, as well as electronic data loss insurance which is designed specifically for these cases.
Business Insurance
Business insurance will sometimes cover the costs of data recovery in cases where you can demonstrate that data loss has caused you financial damage. Keeping backup records of the files you have on your system will make this much easier to prove. Configuring your hard drives with the correct RAID setup can protect your data effectively and automatically. This is a preventative measure worth taking.
If you lose files which are relevant to your business and of value to a third party, then they might be covered under intellectual property damage. If data loss impedes your ability to conduct business, such as when a server goes down, then you may be able to make a claim for interruption of business.
Homeowner’s Insurance and Rental Insurance
Unfortunately the majority of homeowner’s insurance plans will not cover data loss and recovery. Some plans contain special provisions for self-employed individuals and might cover intellectual property such as photos, writing or music. Some homeowner’s insurance policies will also include provisions for financial data and documents such as tax records.
Some insurance policies will also take into consideration the precise nature of the accident in determining the claim awarded. As an example, if a computer that contains important financial information for a home business is damaged in a natural disaster of fire, then you are more likely to be covered.
If you are storing important data on your home computer, it is wise to keep a physical record of crucial files as this might make it easier to file a successful insurance claim.
Electronic Data Loss Insurance
This is the best coverage option for businesses who are looking to take out insurance on the data under their custody. Electronic data loss insurance is a type of insurance which is geared specifically towards those businesses that rely most on the data that they hold.
Unlike other types of insurance, electronic data loss insurance will cover almost all instances of data loss, the only exception is usually cases of user error.
Data recovery can be expensive, but in situations where it is used there is often no alternative. If your business is dependent upon data, then you should insure it appropriately.
