Is your business at risk during COVID-19? It may not be overwork, the challenges of working from home, or the lack of walk-in traffic that brings your business down. Unfortunately, with the sudden shift to working from home and the increase in insurance claims, there’s also an increased risk of fraud and hacking.
Fortunately, with strong policies, you can combat fraud and hacking risks and ensure that your insurance agency thrives at a time when life has shifted into the digital realm.
Hacking Risks At Your Insurance Business
With an abrupt shift into the work-from-home world comes an increased risk of issues like hacking. To avoid digital theft of information, there are several steps you can take:
- Pay for antivirus software for employees
- Ensure that employees install a password program on their computer
- Don’t open attachments that are unexpected
- Ask employees to check the company or client over the phone if they receive a strange email
- Encrypt data when sending it to others
- Invest in secure cloud-based tools so that you don’t need to worry about sending files to others
- Back up your data. According to Small Biz Trends, security involves “backing up important data daily, so that even if your computers and servers get locked, you won’t be forced to pay to see your data again.”
- Just in case your employees make an error or an omission that leads to problems for your clients, be sure that you’re protected. Adding E&O insurance allows you to work on your processes but know that you have a little extra backup to protect you and your clients in case those processes fail.
Insurance Fraud Due to COVID-19
Moving to a digital claims process has its challenges. And when your employees are stressed and juggling many new claims at a time, they are at an increased risk of falling victim to fraud. Fraud can come from two main sources:
- Individuals who make a false claim to secure insurance money for a canceled trip, health insurance, or other insurance issues.
- Individuals who take advantage of your clients, taking their information, and submitting claims on their behalf to take advantage of both you and your client. Forbes has outlined a number of current scams, including false car accidents, damage or injury claims, false travel claims, and scams that aim to steal information, such as calls from people claiming to be calling from the World Health Organization.
Insurance fraud leads to increased costs for you as an agency. It also leads to problems for your clients if their information has been stolen. As an insurance agency, you can help by making it clear to your clients what documentation you need for a claim. You can also make them aware of current insurance scams to help them avoid sharing their information with others who could use it for fraudulent purposes.
American Agents Alliance is here for your insurance agency. Whether you’re looking for discounts on E&O insurance or considering how you can post insurance jobs, we have the tools and connections that you need. Contact us today for more information.
