Cloud insurance is more of an initiative towards enterprise risk management through which, a certain assurance of monetary compensation is made if there is any loss caused by the cloud computing service provider. However, the insurance can be included in the service level agreement along with the cloud service itself or can be bought separately through a third party insurance firm working with the same provider. The insurance cover can be based on a number of different aspects, including the data center capacity, system downtime, hardware failure and other related factors. Here are some tips to use when buying cloud insurance.
First and foremost, it is important for companies to understand the different types of cloud Insurance there are available and also what it covers. A comprehensive policy that offers full coverage of all types of cloud services, whether they be hardware software or connectivity failures, is required. Different types of cloud insurance policies have different approaches as well as coverage levels. For example, some cloud insurance policies will cover only data loss while others will cover only the hardware or even both elements. Furthermore, certain policies will have a deductible feature, meaning that if the insured entity makes a claim, up to a certain amount has to be paid by the client before the insurer takes over the rest.
The Cloud Insurance Association has come up with a standard set of guidelines which serve as a guide in choosing the right kind of cloud computing risk management services. These guidelines state that the primary goal of cloud insurance is to mitigate the business risk from data loss. The guidelines further state that this should be done in a way where the benefits derived can be mitigated against the cost of risk. Thus, the policy should offer maximum value to the customers. Some of these standards include providing customers with a cost effective means to mitigate risks such as those posed by cloud infrastructure, providing customers with a way to effectively manage their own information and that they should be provided with a way to make sure their data remains safe at all times.
Today, the insurance industry is witnessing explosive growth. As the internet has grown in popularity, more people are relying on it for their day-to-day work. Cloud computing, a concept based on the idea that a website is divided into a public and private cloud, allows people to share and access data irrespective of location. This reduces the need for companies to host their systems in their premises, thereby reducing operating costs. Hence, the demand for cloud computing insurance has increased.