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Why Stand Alone Cyber Beats BOPT Extensions Every Time with Zane Goldthorp, Shoptalk Episode #196
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In the fourth and final installment of this Shoptalk series, host David Carothers and Zane Goldthorp of ProWriters tackle a critical issue facing agents every day: the vast difference between a standalone cyber policy and a simple BOP or package endorsement. They call out the laziness of settling for an endorsement, highlighting the massive coverage gaps it leaves and the E&O exposure it creates for the agent. Zane shares real-world horror stories of agents discovering their client’s six-figure loss wasn’t covered by their BOP. The conversation provides a clear, strategic path for agents to transition clients to proper coverage and use the inadequacy of endorsements as a powerful competitive wedge against other agents.
Key Highlights:
Standalone Policy vs. BOP Endorsement: A Massive Chasm
The core of the episode is a stark warning: a BOP endorsement for cyber is not real protection. Zane explains that when compared side-by-side, endorsements lack critical coverage, have minuscule sublimits for events like social engineering, and often omit coverage entirely for sophisticated attacks like invoice manipulation, leaving clients dangerously exposed.
The E&O Nightmare of “Good Enough” Coverage
Zane shares his experience taking calls from frantic agents whose clients have suffered a major loss, only to find their BOP endorsement is useless. These situations not only lead to losing the client but also put the agency’s own E&O policy on the line for failing to provide adequate counsel and coverage.
Cyber as the Ultimate Competitive Wedge
If you’re prospecting an account and discover their current agent has them on a BOP endorsement, it’s “game over.” David and Zane explain how an agent with a standalone offering can easily tear the endorsement apart, create immense doubt in the incumbent, and win not just the cyber business but likely the entire account.
Breach vs. Privacy vs. System Failure
The conversation clarifies that a cyber claim doesn’t always require a security breach. Standalone policies respond to a wider range of events, including privacy breaches (like a lost laptop) and dependent system failures. Using the real-world CrowdStrike outage as an example, they illustrate a massive business interruption scenario that would be covered by a standalone policy but never by a BOP.
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