What does cyber insurance pay for businesses?
limited Core covered, edges open
Cyber insurance for businesses mainly pays for immediate help after an attack, restoring data and systems, and third-party claims after a data breach. Loss of income, fraud with fake instructions and ransom are often only insured with an add-on or with limits; property damage is insured in none of the products we read.
As of
Tap a plus in the picture.
At work · Shop window · 1 of 6
Customer data stolen from the party catering shop
The small webshop for party catering runs on an outdated plugin.
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At work · Office · 2 of 6
A customer pays into a fake account
Usually the policy only replaces your own money.
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At work · Office · 3 of 6
Call with a cloned voice
Not every policy treats a phone call as an instruction.
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At work · Storeroom · 4 of 6
Server encrypted, scales without prices, deliveries delayed
Through an unprotected point in the router, an attacker introduces ransomware that encrypts the server with merchandise management, delivery notes and work reports.
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At work · Shop floor · 5 of 6
Card terminal and Twint fail on Saturday morning
A large DDoS attack on a telecoms or payment provider paralyses Twint and card payments over lunchtime.
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At work · Cold room · 6 of 6
Cold storage hacked, goods spoiled
The cyber policy excludes property damage, the property policy often excludes cyber attacks.
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17 modules on three shelves
What a cyber policy for businesses can cover, sorted by what is really included.
Almost always included4
- Immediate help in an emergency
- Restore data and systems
- Third-party claims after a data breach
- Inform affected people
Covered in at least 4 of 5 policies.
Varies by insurer11
- Replace unusable devices
- Loss of income after an attack
- Outage at the IT provider
- Outage due to operating error
- Cyber extortion
- Proceedings before authorities
- Fraud with fake instructions
- Hacked e-banking
- Phone hacking and extra costs
- Card industry penalties
- Media liability
Sometimes covered, sometimes only as an add-on, sometimes limited.
Almost never included2
Not covered or not addressed in at least 4 of 5 policies.
Counted over the business policies with public terms: AXA, Sunrise (AXA), Mobiliar, Zurich, Helvetia. Insurers compared
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
The three big gaps
Here the loss often stays with the business.
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Cold storage hacked, goods spoiled
The cyber policy excludes property damage, the property policy often excludes cyber attacks.
What the terms say
Property insurance usually does not help: refrigerated goods are insured there only as an add-on and only in the event of a technical defect or power interruption (AXA property B8, Allianz C6.3.3); AXA excludes operating errors (B8.5) and, in the catch-all provision, hacker attacks (let. s), Mobiliar All Risks excludes cyber risks (section 3).
Where does it say so?
Allgemeine Vertragsbedingungen (AVB) KMU Versicherung, Modul Sachversicherung, Ausgabe 06.2024 (16373DE – 2024-06), Nicht genannte Gefahren, lit. s
«Schäden verursacht durch Schadprogramme, Hacker- und Denial-of-Service-Angriffe sowie andere Cyber-Ereignisse.»
Open document: Allgemeine Vertragsbedingungen (AVB) KMU Versicherung, Modul Sachversicherung (opens in a new window), retrieved 06.11.2026
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A customer pays into a fake account
Usually the policy only replaces your own money.
What the terms say
Own money only: Mobiliar (B8) and Zurich (Art. 702) reimburse only the insured’s own means of payment. If a customer pays into a wrong account because of the hacked email account, among the GTC reviewed only Helvetia expressly covers this (3.3.1.8 let. b, sub-limit).
Where does it say so?
Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen Helvetia Cyber-Versicherung (Musterwording KMU-Spezial), Ausgabe Juni 2026, Ziff. 3.3.1.8 lit. b, S. 12
«wenn diese finanzielle Transaktion aufgrund einer auf dem IT-System des Versicherungsnehmers vorgenommene Manipulation»
Open document: Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen Helvetia Cyber-Versicherung (Musterwording KMU-Spezial) (opens in a new window), retrieved 06.11.2026
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Call with a cloned voice
Not every policy treats a phone call as an instruction.
What the terms say
Call with a cloned voice: under the GTC, Helvetia does not reimburse payments triggered by phone calls, voice messages or videos (3.3.1.8, p. 12), unless the policy contains special condition 3.7.6 (included in the KMU-Spezial sample policy, with proof of basic security measures). Zurich (Art. 702.2) and Mobiliar (B8.1) require an order transmitted online in writing. Only AXA A6 expressly mentions contact by telephone.
Where does it say so?
Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen Helvetia Cyber-Versicherung (Musterwording KMU-Spezial), Ausgabe Juni 2026, Ziff. 3.3.1.8, S. 12
«die durch Telefonanrufe (inkl. IP-Telefonie), Sprachnachrichten oder Videos initiiert werden (z.B. durch Deepfake)»
Open document: Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen Helvetia Cyber-Versicherung (Musterwording KMU-Spezial) (opens in a new window), retrieved 06.11.2026
24 industries
124 scenarios with costs per item in Swiss francs. Choose your business.
- Butcher’s shop 5 scenarios
- Bakery and confectionery 5 scenarios
- Restaurant and catering 5 scenarios
- Hotel and accommodation 5 scenarios
- Trades (electrical, plumbing, joinery, painting) 5 scenarios
- Construction company 5 scenarios
- Garage and car dealership 5 scenarios
- Medical practice 5 scenarios
- Dental practice 5 scenarios
- Physiotherapy 5 scenarios
- Pharmacy and drugstore 5 scenarios
- Fiduciary services 6 scenarios
- Law firm and notary’s office 5 scenarios
- Architectural and engineering office 5 scenarios
- Retail (shop) 6 scenarios
- Online shop 6 scenarios
- Hairdresser, beauty salon, nail studio 5 scenarios
- Agriculture 5 scenarios
- Transport and logistics 5 scenarios
- Production and industrial SMEs 6 scenarios
- Property management 5 scenarios
- Association and foundation 5 scenarios
- Municipality and public administration 5 scenarios
- IT service provider and software company 5 scenarios
What does it cost?
from CHF 300 a year, indicative value for a micro business based on a published rate, not a quote Source: Helvetia Schweizerische Versicherungsgesellschaft AG · As of
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Micro business < CHF 1 million revenue, restaurant or trade (Helvetia Group A)
CHF 300–750 a year
First-party loss 50'000–200'000, liability 500'000–1 million
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Micro business < CHF 1 million revenue, butcher’s shop/retail/food production (Helvetia Group C, assignment of butcher’s shop derived)
CHF 700–1'600 a year
First-party loss 50'000–200'000, liability 500'000–1 million