Colonial Surety Launches Fiduciary, Cyber Liability Protection Package

Colonial Surety, a direct and digital insurer, has expanded its fiduciary liability product offering for plan sponsors with a new, two-part package that includes cyber liability coverage.  

The new package offers fiduciary liability insurance for plan sponsors, protecting assets from claims of fiduciary breach, as well as cyber liability coverage to safeguard employees’ personal data and assets against cybersecurity threats.

“The guidance issued by the DOL [Department of Labor] in April is a clear statement that it sees cybersecurity as a key fiduciary responsibility for all plan sponsors. Businesses now have no choice but to be proactive about protecting the privacy and personal information of their retirement plan participants,” says Wayne Nunziata, president of Colonial Surety.

“At Colonial Surety, we have long understood that cybersecurity is both a significant risk and a major blind spot for many 401(k) plans,” he adds. “Our new package allows us to support plan sponsors with comprehensive, cost-effective cyber liability solutions, and we will continue to encourage the wider industry to adopt cyber liability protection as a best practice for all businesses.”

The new fiduciary-and-cyber liability package includes coverage that protects the assets of the retirement plan sponsor, and the personal assets of individuals involved in the management of the plan, from exposure in the event of a lawsuit alleging breaches of fiduciary duty. Additionally, the cyber liability protection included in the package protects businesses and their pension plans from covered losses and response expenses in the event of a cyber breach.

In particular, the built-in cyber liability protection provides coverage for the costs of legal services, computer forensic services, public relations (PR) and crisis management expenses, notification services, call-center services, credit-monitoring, and identity-monitoring or other personal fraud or loss-prevention solutions. It also includes defense and indemnity from covered lawsuits by third parties.

The new fiduciary-and-cyber liability package can be found on Colonial Surety’s online platform and is available to any company that sponsors a retirement plan and already has an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) bond in place. It complements Colonial’s existing ERISA Package, which includes fiduciary and cyber liability coverage, alongside Colonial’s own ERISA bond.