Featured image

How to Handle a Network Outage: A Guide for Insurance Executives

As an insurance executive, you know that unexpected events can happen at any time. One such event is a network outage, which can leave your customers unable to communicate with you. The recent AT&T network outage is a prime example of this. Thousands of customers were unable to call or text from their cell phones, causing widespread frustration and inconvenience. In this blog post, we will provide you with a guide on how to handle a network outage.

Introduction

The AT&T network outage started at around 3 a.m. on February 22 and still hasn’t been fully resolved at the time of writing. Initially, it was thought that other major networks, like Verizon and T-Mobile, also had service outages. As most major cell providers operate on their own networks, speculation was afoot that something major had gone wrong. However, it turns out AT&T was the only network with a nationwide outage. The reports on Downdetector related to other services were down to customers attempting to call or text AT&T customers. Details on the exact cause of the outage are still unclear, but it isn’t likely to be a cyber attack. Instead, it could be a notably less threatening problem with something all cell networks use.

Main Body

As an insurance executive, it’s important to have a plan in place for handling a network outage. Here are five steps you can take:

  1. Communicate with your customers: The first step is to communicate with your customers and let them know what’s going on. Use social media, email, or any other means of communication to keep them informed. Let them know that you are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.

  2. Activate your disaster recovery plan: If you have a disaster recovery plan in place, now is the time to activate it. This plan should include steps for restoring service and minimizing the impact on your customers.

  3. Identify the cause of the outage: Work with your IT team to identify the cause of the outage. This will help you determine the best course of action for resolving the issue and preventing it from happening again in the future.

  4. Consider parametric insurance: If you have parametric insurance in place, it can help you mitigate the financial impact of a network outage. Parametric insurance pays out based on predefined triggers, such as the duration of the outage or the number of customers affected.

  5. Review and update your disaster recovery plan: Once the outage has been resolved, take the time to review and update your disaster recovery plan. Identify any areas that need improvement and make the necessary changes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a network outage can be a major disruption for insurance executives and their customers. However, by following the steps outlined in this guide, you can minimize the impact of an outage and ensure that your customers are kept informed. If you’re interested in learning more about parametric insurance and how it can help you mitigate the financial impact of a network outage, get in touch with Riskwolf. With Riskwolf, you can turn real-time data into insurance. Using unique real-time data and dynamic risk modelling, we enable insurers to build and operate parametric insurance at scale. Simple. Reliable. Fast.

Source: Why Today’s AT&T Outage Probably Isn’t A Cyberattack