Cyber Insurance FAQ's
What is Cyber Insurance?

1st for Women Cyber Insurance protects policyholders and their household members if they fall victim to cyber bullying. It also provides additional benefits, such as cover against cyber theft, computer and home systems attack, and cyber liability claims.

Why do I need Cyber Insurance?

Cybercrime is a real threat. We are exposed to the risk of cyber-attacks in our homes through our computers, laptops and mobile devices. 1st for Women Cyber Insurance covers you if you fall victim to these crimes on your personal computer, laptop and mobile device.

What is included in 1st for Women Cyber Insurance?

You are covered for cyber bullying, cyber liability, computer and home system attacks, and cyber theft.

What is a cyber-attack?

A cyber-attack is an attack on a computer system, network, or internet-enabled application or device, for example your cellphone or tablet. It is initiated by a third party to gain illegal access to your computer system with the aim to steal your personal or financial information, or damage your computer system.

What is cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying is an aggressive, intentional act or behavior carried out by a group or an individual, using electronic communications (like social media sites and WhatsApp messages). The aim is to convey messages with the intention to hurt a specific person. This also includes, but is not limited to, cyber stalking, cyber harassment, cyber mobbing, offensive name-calling and purposeful embarrassment.

  • Cyber stalking is the repeated use of electronic communications to harass or frighten someone, for example by sending threatening emails.
  • Cyber harassment is the use of electronic communications to send messages of an intimidating or threatening nature over a sustained period of time, targeted against you or a member of your household. The messages inflict, or threaten to inflict, physical or psychological harm.
  • Cyber mobbing is cyber cruelty that involves a group of people that share the same malicious mindset or intent towards an individual with the goal to hurt or embarrass that individual.
  • Offensive name-calling is the act of insulting someone by calling them rude names.
  • Purposeful embarrassment is the act of intentionally placing a person in an emotional state that is associated with moderate to high levels of discomfort. It is usually experienced when a frowned-upon act or condition is witnessed by or revealed to others.

Example of cyber bullying:

Lindsay is an outgoing high school scholar. She attracts the attention of a number of the school’s students – much to the annoyance of the school’s hockey players. Louise, the team captain, is concerned about Lindsay being more popular than her. With the help of her friends, Louise decides to create a “We Hate Lindsay” website, where girls can post reasons why they hate Lindsay and why they think she should leave the school. Soon, the entire school becomes aware of the site’s web address, and many others begin to post hurtful sentiments about Lindsay. Desperately wanting to make friends, Lindsay is crushed and begins to suffer from depression and a lack of desire to do anything.

Lindsay’s mom has a 1st for Women Cyber Insurance policy and she contacts the call centre for legal advice. Forensic and legal experts can assist Lindsay’s mom in removing the website and also in mediating a resolution with the guilty party.

To which amount am I covered for cyber bullying?
  • Telephonic legal advice is unlimited and is available 24/7.
  • Mediation by a legal representative is unlimited.
  • Litigation is covered up to R55 000, which is the amount equivalent to the hours the legal representative uses for court proceedings.
What is cyber liability?

Cyber liability is cover that will assist you in defending and paying any third party for financial loss arising directly from a cyber-attack that has come from or passed through your computer system to the third party’s computer system. Cyber liability cover is designed to provide you with legal assistance, as well as financial cover to pay the third party liability claim.

Example of cyber liability:

Janine found herself served with a liability lawsuit from an acquaintance, Paige. The lawsuit states that Janine is the reason for Paige’s loss of potential income and damages to property, due to a virus being sent to Paige’s laptop by Janine via an email attachment.

Janine has 1st for Women Cyber Insurance and decides to contact the call centre for legal assistance. The forensic experts discover that her computer was the carrier of the virus to Paige’s laptop. Following this investigation, our legal expert will assist Janine in mediating an amicable solution or, if need be, go to court. Once a settlement amount has been finalised, Janine’s policy will cover the payment to Paige.

To which amount am I covered for cyber liability?
  • Liability cover up to R100 000 paid to the third party that submitted the claim (not paid to the policyholder).
  • Litigation up to R55 000, which is the amount equivalent to the hours the legal representative uses for court proceedings.
  • Telephonic legal advice is unlimited and is available 24/7.
What is cyber theft?

Cyber theft is theft of your financial and/or personal information by means of a cyber-attack on your personal computer, tablet, or cellphone. The result is the wrongful transfer of funds from your bank account into a third-party’s account, or the purchase of goods and/or services online using your stolen personal information. Cyber theft cover is designed to reimburse you the monetary loss suffered up to the stated limit.

Example of cyber theft:

Naomi becomes aware of transactions on her online XYZ account to the amount of R10 000 that she did not use to purchase any goods. She contacts the customer care line at XYZ and they confirm that the transactions where indeed done with her account details and secure password.  Naomi does not know how her personal information has been obtained, as she keeps it secure on her personal computer.

She has 1st for Women Cyber Insurance and decides to contact the call centre for assistance. The forensic experts discover that her computer was breached through the use of an emailed virus. This allowed the criminal to log in and obtain her personal information (i.e. passwords into retail accounts) and so perform unauthorised transactions on her account. With this confirmation, her policy reimbursed her for her losses of R10 000.

To which amount am I covered for cyber theft?

Monetary loss up to R25 000, paid to the policyholder.

Does this policy cover cloned cards and the financial loss as a result of this?

No, but your bank should provide assistance if this happens.

Will this policy cover me if the financial loss was a result of phishing, texting or, SIM swops?

No, this policy will only cover incidents where the loss was as a result of a cyber-attack.

What is phishing?

Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

What is computer and home systems attack?

Computer and home systems attack is when a third party gains illegal access to your computer system with the intent to damage, corrupt or delete data. Computer and home systems attack cover is designed to facilitate the recovery and restoration of your personal data files on your computer, where possible.

Example of computer and home systems attack:

Masego attempted to access her data files on her personal computer one morning and found that her files are scrambled. She has 1st for Women Cyber Insurance and decides to contact the call centre for assistance. The forensic experts discover that her computer was infected by a virus that corrupted her personal data files. They attempt to recover her data and when successful provides her data files to her for restoring on her personal computer.

To which amount am I covered for computer and home systems attack?

No monetary amount is allocated to the attempted recovery of data from the cyber-attacked computer. This service will continue up until the point where data is recovered or when it is determined that the data is not recoverable.c

Is my software covered under the home systems attack benefit?

Software is not covered under this policy, however attempts to recover lost data is covered.

What is the process to submit a claim? And what happens once I’ve logged it?

To submit a claim, you need to contact our call centre on 0861 10 61 31 and follow the prompts to select the correct assistance option. Once your claim has been submitted, you will be contacted by our service provider to obtain/access your electronic device and do an assessment of the incident. Following the assessment, a consultant will be in contact with you to disclose the outcome of the claim.

What is mediation?

Mediation is where a third party (usually a lawyer) assists in resolving legal disputes between the policyholder and the offender.

What is litigation?

Litigation is the process of taking legal action (going to court) against an offender, where a legal representative is required to defend and/or institute legal action resulting from an insured event.

Do I need a car or home insurance policy with 1st for Women to take up Cyber Insurance?

No, you don’t need to have an existing car or home insurance policy with 1st for Women to take up Cyber Insurance.

How many devices are covered?

There is no limitation on the number of devices that each person within the household can have.

Will my work laptop be covered under this policy?

If your work laptop or other work device is subject to a cyber-attack at your home, it will not be covered under this policy, as this is the responsibility of your employer and should be insured by them.

Is there a limit to number of claims allowed?

Yes, there is a limit of five claim events during a 12-month period. If, for example, the cyber theft benefit, and computer and home systems attack benefit is used during the same claim, it will only be counted as one claim event.

Who is covered?

This policy provides cover for you and your legal (traditional) spouse and up to four dependent children up to the age of 21, or 25 years old if they are full-time registered students.

What is defined as a traditional spouse?

Traditional spouse is where the marriage was conducted according to customs and practices in a particular culture and not by law. Traditional marriages are recognised as lawful unions in South Africa.

Are my children covered under this policy if I am unmarried?

Yes, even if you are unmarried this policy will cover up to four of your dependent children (dependent is defined as being unmarried and unemployed) under the age of 25.

Are common law spouses covered?

No, a common law spouse is excluded from the cover, because where individuals live together or have a domestic partnership, it is not recognised as a legal relationship by South African law.

Is there a waiting period between taking up the policy and being able to start using the policy?

No, you are covered from the date of your first successful debit order payment.

I have a small company, can I take out 1st for Women Cyber insurance cover for my business?

1st for Women’s cyber insurance offering is specifically designed to cater for individuals that fall victim to cyber-crimes. Unfortunately, the benefits offered will not be adequate for business needs.

I recently had a cyber-related incident, will I be covered?

No, if the incident occurred before taking up the policy, you will not have cover.

Is there an excess payable on the policy?

Yes, there is an excess payable of R1 000 per claim event lodged through our claims line.

What is your turn-around time for claims?

The turn-around time on a claim is entirely dependent on the nature of the claim you’ve submitted. An appropriate response time will be provided on a case-by-case basis by our call centre agent.

I have submitted my claim a few days ago, my device is still in for investigation, what do I do?

Please contact our call centre on 0861 10 61 31 to check the progress on the forensic investigation on your device.

Does this policy cover my actual device if it is stolen?

Cyber Insurance provides cover for losses related to cyber-attacks and does not provide cover for the theft of the electronic device or any physical damage of the electronic hardware.

My phone/tablet/laptop won’t switch on, what do I do?

For technical assistance on your electronic device, we recommend you contact the service provider you acquired the device from.

Does telephonic legal advice count towards my five claims?

No, if you contact our call centre on 0861 10 61 31 and request legal assistance or guidance on a cyber-related issue, then the telephonic legal advice incident will not count towards your five claim events per year. Note that this is not the same as the Guardian Angel Legal Assist line, this Cyber Insurance assist line is purely for cyber-related incidents.

Does legal mediation count towards my five claims?

No, our mediation assistance can be used whenever you need assistance in terms of cyber-related issues and will not count towards your five claim events per year.

Who is Risk Diversion and how will they help me?

Risk Diversion is our trusted forensics partner that was established in 2003, with a focus on Digital Forensic Services, they have emerged as a market leader in digital forensics, cyber intelligence, and specialised research.

Risk Diversion will assist you when you fall victim to a cyber-attack by providing the following services through the claim process:

  • Cyber threat assessment (cyber liability, cyber theft andcyber bullying),
  • Recovery of data where possible (computer and home systems attacks),
  • Neutralisation of further hacks where possible (computer and home systems attacks and cyber theft),
  • Identifying the origin of harmful content where possible (cyber liability).
  • Collection of digital evidence of cyber bullying.
Who is LIPCO (Law for All) and how will they help me?

LIPCO was established is 1993 and they have 12 offices across the country. They are our legal partner and will assist you with any legal matters arising from a cyber-attack. Their team is made up of over 450 attorneys and advocates that specialise in a multitude of law services, especially mediation, which allows them to resolve legal matters outside of court.

If my device needs to be taken for further investigation how will this go about? What process will be followed?

If your device needs to be observed by our forensic partner for investigation, Risk Diversion will arrange for the device to be couriered to their offices and send it back to you once completed (via courier) at no cost to you.

Will I be able to submit a claim for cyber bullying if my husband is harassing me online?

This policy excludes any claims against a household member that lives under the same roof, as this policy covers all these members.

Do I need a virus scanner installed when buying this policy?

No, a virus scanner is not required, however all reasonable attempts or action must be taken by the insured to limit or avoid breaches.

Am I covered when the loss is resulting from any contractual liability?

No, any loss arising from any contractual liability is not covered by this policy.

What is contractual liability?

Contractual liability is a promise by one party to assume responsibility on behalf of someone else. In this case, this policy will not take responsibility for any liability assumed by the policyholder. In a typical contractual liability agreement, party X agrees that if party Y is sued by party Z because of party X's negligence, party X will indemnify (reimburse) party Y for costs that result from party Z's lawsuit.

What is hardware?

Computer system’s hardware are the physical parts or components of a computer, such as the central processing unit, monitor, keyboard, computer data storage, graphic card and motherboard.

What is software?

Computer software is part of a computer system that consists of data or computer instructions. There are different types of software for example application software (i.e. Microsoft Office) and system software (i.e. Windows).

What is data?

Data is the files on your computer that contain your work, for example Excel worksheets, Word documents and photographs.

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