Beazley and DAC Beachcroft launch GDPR hotline

Cyber liability insurer Beazley has partnered with law firm DAC Beachcroft to launch a free General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) helpline for its Beazley Beach Response (BBR) clients in the UK.

Ahead of the GDPR’s implementation on 25 May 2018, the helpline has been set up to ensure clients are in compliance with the regulation and highlight any areas that still need to be addressed.

Beazley said with only one month until the new rules kick in, companies are still struggling to fully understand the effects of the GDPR. “Despite widespread publicity and the long run-up to implementation, enquiries from Beazley’s policyholders, which have been fielded by its BBR Services team, suggest that the effects of the regulation are still not well understood,” Beazley said.

The new rules will increase firms’ exposure to privacy and data breach liability risks, particularly for companies in the European Union that process personal data. Companies that are found to be in breach of the rules face heavy penalties.

The GDPR helpline, which puts clients in touch with free legal expertise, will be available free of charge to BBR policyholders. They will be able to access tailored guidance and highlight steps that still need to be taken to mitigate the risks of non-compliance. Beazley said it hoped the advice would help clients identify where to best apply their internal resources.

Raf Sanchez, international breach response service manager at Beazley, said: “Behind the headline-grabbing financial penalties, GDPR is complex and it needs to be properly understood by organisations so they can understand what they need to do now to mitigate their exposure.

“The experience of our BBR Services team has shown a real and pressing need for easy access to specialist advice at this critical juncture. That’s exactly why we have partnered with DAC Beachcroft and set up our policyholder helpline.”