The Hartford to Offer Data Breach Insurance

Good news for small firms.  The Hartford (NYSE: HIG)is now offering data breach insurance targeting small business.  Insurance is a good control to invest in to supplement other information security controls or as the main control if your business is very small.  Some E&O policies may also have riders that cover data breaches.  If you own a business you should review all your policies to be sure that your coverage objectives are met.

Relying on insurance is a form of risk transference.  The policy holder is transferring some of the risk in the form of impact costs to another party.  This can be useful and could potentially save a small business from severe financial damage if it has to absorb the costs of investigating a breach or cover the cost of credit monitoring for its customers. 

In trading terms buying a Put is the same as buying insurance.  The purchaser is given the option to sell their investment for potentially more than the current market price.  An unexpected oil spill or embezzling scandal could be the equivalent of intruders or dumpster divers getting their hands on your customer’s data.

There’s a very small range in HIG.  There is support around 16 so this could be played different ways.  Shorting the stock with a stop above the trend line is one option.  The Oct 18/16 Bear Put Spread is going for .69 and has a max profit of 131.  Since front month IV is higher than November a put calendar may be an alternative if you want to play the descending triangle pattern.  The 16 Oct/Nov Put calendar is going for .47.  There is a possibility the stock could drop to 12 if the descending triangle follows through.2011-09-21-HIG-PROPHET

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