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Reference · A to Z

Cyber security & insurance glossary.

Plain-English definitions for the policy wording, exclusions, and security jargon you'll see on your renewal sheet and in every threat report we send to the board.

A
6 terms
Accidental Damage
Unexpected and non-deliberate external action that causes damage to the insured property.
Actual Cash Value (ACV)
Repayment value for indemnification due to loss or damage of property; in most cases, it is replacement cost minus depreciation.
Add-on Covers
Additional covers offered with the standard insurance policy for extra security.
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
Cyber threats where an unauthorized user gains access to a system or network and remains there undetected for a long period.
Authentication
Verification of an individual, system, or entity's identity.
Attack Vector
The path or method by which a hacker gains access to a computer or network to deliver a malicious payload.
B
5 terms
Beneficiary
The person or party named by the owner of a life insurance policy to receive the policy benefit.
Binder
Temporary authorization of coverage issued prior to the actual insurance policy.
Botnet
A group of private computers infected with malicious software and controlled as a group without the owners' knowledge.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
A sophisticated scam that targets businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.
Black Hat
An individual who hacks with malicious intent, often for personal gain.
C
5 terms
Claim
A formal request to an insurance company asking for a payment based on the terms of the insurance policy.
Comprehensive Insurance
An auto insurance that covers damage of your car, other vehicles and property, theft, and damages caused by incidents other than car accidents.
Cyber Liability Insurance
An insurance product used to protect businesses and individual users from Internet-based risks, typically risks related to information technology infrastructure and activities.
Cybersecurity
The protection of computer systems from theft or damage to their hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
Cyber Extortion
A crime involving an attack or threat of attack against an enterprise, coupled with a demand for money to stop the attack.
D
5 terms
Deductible
The amount of loss that the insured is responsible to pay before benefits from the insurance company are payable.
Depreciation
Decrease in the value of property over a period of time due to wear and tear or obsolescence.
Data Breach
A confirmed incident in which sensitive, confidential or otherwise protected data has been accessed and/or disclosed in an unauthorized fashion.
Denial of Service (DoS)
An attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users.
Dark Web
The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.
E
5 terms
Endorsement
Written evidence of an agreed change in a policy.
Exclusions
Those items or conditions that are not covered by the general insurance contract.
Endpoint Security
A strategy that requires that network access attempts be evaluated for their risk before access is granted.
Encryption
The method by which information is converted into secret code that hides the information's true meaning.
Exposure
The state of being exposed to possible loss from a threat.
F
5 terms
Face Amount
The value of a policy to be provided upon maturity date or death.
First Party
The policyholder (the insured) in an insurance contract.
Firewall
A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
Forensics
The application of investigative analysis and interpretation to uncovered evidence after a security incident or data breach.
Fraud
Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
G
5 terms
General Insurance
Insurance that deals with property, liability, and other types of coverage, but not life insurance.
Grace Period
A specified length of time within which a renewal premium that is due may be paid without penalty.
General Liability Insurance
Insurance that covers a company for bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage caused by the company's operations, products, or injury that occurs on the company's premises.
Grey Hat
A computer hacker who sometimes violates laws or typical ethical standards, but does not have the malicious intent typical of a black hat hacker.
Governance
The way rules, norms, and actions are structured, sustained, regulated, and held accountable.
H
4 terms
Health Insurance
Type of insurance coverage that pays for medical and surgical expenses incurred by the insured.
Hacker
A skilled computer expert that uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem.
Hardware
The physical parts of a computer or computer system.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol the protocol used for transmitting hypertext over the World Wide Web.
I
5 terms
Indemnity
Security or protection against a loss or other financial burden.
Insurable Interest
Interest in property such that loss or destruction of the property could cause a financial loss.
Identity Theft
The deliberate use of someone else's identity, usually as a method to gain financial advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person's name.
Incident Response
An organized approach to addressing and managing the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack.
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
A system that monitors network traffic for suspicious activity and issues alerts when such activity is discovered.
J
2 terms
Junk Mail
Unwanted or unsolicited email.
JavaScript
A popular programming language used both on client-side and server-side to make web pages interactive.
K
2 terms
Keylogger
A type of surveillance software that has the capability to record every keystroke you make to a log file, usually encrypted.
Kernel
The core of a computer's operating system, with complete control over everything in the system.
L
5 terms
Liability Insurance
Insurance that offers protection from third-party claims arising from accidents caused by the policyholder.
Lapse
Termination of a policy due to failure to pay the required renewal premium.
Liability
The company's or individual's legal responsibility for the damages caused by a security incident.
Loss Control
Actions taken to reduce the frequency or severity of losses, including education, safety inspections, and risk management.
Login
The act of entering into a computer system or network by entering an identifier and password.
M
5 terms
Maturity
The date on which the principal amount of a note, draft, acceptance, bond, or other debt instrument becomes due and payable.
Moral Hazard
A condition that increases the likelihood of a loss due to an insured's indifferent attitude.
Malware
Software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
A security system that requires more than one method of authentication from independent categories of credentials to verify the user's identity for a login or other transaction.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
The administration of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, and desktop computers.
N
4 terms
Named Perils
Perils specified in a policy as being covered.
Network
A group of two or more computer systems linked together.
Network Security
The practices adopted to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources.
Non-repudiation
Assurance that someone cannot deny the validity of something.
O
2 terms
One-Time Password (OTP)
A password that is valid for only one login session or transaction.
Outsourcing
The business practice of contracting with an outside party to take care of certain tasks instead of hiring new employees or assigning those tasks to existing staff.
P
5 terms
Peril
The cause of a loss.
Policy
The written contract effecting insurance, including all clauses, riders, endorsements, and papers attached thereto.
Phishing
A cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data.
Patch
A set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it.
Password
A string of characters used for user authentication to prove identity or access approval to gain access to a resource.
Q
2 terms
Quarantine
Isolating a computer or network to prevent the spread of malicious code or unauthorized access.
Quality of Service (QoS)
The description or measurement of the overall performance of a service.
R
5 terms
Rate
The pricing factor upon which the insurance buyer's premium is based.
Renewal
The automatic re-establishment of in-force status effected by the payment of another premium.
Ransomware
A type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
Risk Assessment
The process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating risk.
Rootkit
A collection of computer software, typically malicious, designed to enable access to a computer or an area of its software that is not otherwise allowed.
S
3 terms
Subrogation
The right for an insurer to pursue a third party that caused an insurance loss to the insured.
Surrender Charge
Charge for withdrawals from an annuity contract before a designated surrender charge period.
Social Engineering
The use of deception to manipulate individuals into revealing confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes.
T
3 terms
Term Insurance
Life insurance payable to the beneficiary only when death of the insured occurs within a specified time.
Third Party
A person other than the insured or insurer who has incurred losses or is entitled to receive payment due to acts or omissions of the insured.
Trojan
A type of malicious software that misrepresents itself to appear useful, routine, or interesting in order to persuade a victim to install it.
U
3 terms
Underwriter
The person trained in evaluating risks and determining the rates and coverages that will be used for them.
Umbrella Policy
Coverage for losses above the limit of an underlying policy or policies such as homeowners and auto insurance.
Unauthorized Access
Gaining access to a computer system, network, file, or other resource without permission.
V
3 terms
Valuation
The process of determining the value or amount of a policy, a property, or an amount claimed.
Void
Of no legal effect from the beginning.
Virus
A type of malicious software that, when executed, replicates by reproducing itself or infecting other programs by modifying them.
W
3 terms
Waiver
The voluntary abandonment of a legal right or advantage.
Whole Life Insurance
Life insurance that provides coverage for the entire life of the insured, with a savings element.
White Hat
An ethical computer hacker who specializes in penetration testing and other testing methodologies to ensure the security of a system.
X
1 term
X-Dates
The dates on which an insurance policy expires.
Y
2 terms
Yearly Renewable Term (YRT)
A type of term insurance that provides coverage for one year and allows the policy to be renewed and premiums to be paid on a yearly basis.
Yearly Price of Protection Method
A method used to approximate the cost of life insurance by taking the net amount at risk and multiplying it by the mortality rate.
Z
3 terms
Zero Day Threat
A computer threat that tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are unknown to others or undisclosed by the software developer.
Zero Depreciation Cover
A car insurance add-on ensuring full compensation without any deduction for depreciation. Also called nil depreciation or bumper-to-bumper.
Zone Rating
A method of rating auto insurance policies by territory where the policy was issued.
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Mean time to detectacross 800+ clients
4.2Min
Insurance boundtypical broker takes 6 weeks
6Days
Breach responsewar room to containment
60Min
Claims settledin last 24 months
₹500Cr