How to keep your clients’ kids safe online during school holidays

Keeping kids safe online in an ever-changing world isn't easy, especially during school holidays when they might spend more time online.

High-net-worth insurance underwriting agency Mansions of Australia’s Mansions Executive Insurance product provides cover to protect its policyholders and their families against losses caused by common cybercrimes.

While there are many ways that parents can help to keep their kids safe, Mansions National Team Leader Hayley Blanchard says, “education is key”.

”While the internet can be a wonderful place to learn and entertain, it also poses dangers if you don’t take precautions and teach children what to look out for.”

What are the types of risks kids face online?

Children face many of the same risks online as they face offline, and those risks come not only from strangers, but from friends and themselves, Hayley says.

"As they are generally more trusting and less risk averse than adults, kids can be targeted by hackers to click on a suspicious link which downloads malware or targeted by identity thieves to divulge personal information."

They are also at increased risk of cyberbullying or being groomed and targeted by online predators.

How parents can help keep their kids safe online

It's important for parents to pay attention to what their child is doing online.

"It helps to understand the kinds of websites they're looking at, the games they're playing and the apps they're using," she advises.

Hayley also recommends using parental controls where available.

"Parental controls on technology are an in-built feature for a very good reason. We advise parents to set up separate accounts for their kids and ensure they don't have administrator access so that parents can control what their kids can and can't see."

When it comes to social media, many platforms have an age limit of 13+, which Hayley says parents and caregivers should heed.

Other ways to help keep their online environment safe include only allowing kids to use devices in family areas rather than alone in their bedrooms. It's also important to make sure anti-virus software is up-to-date and that the latest versions of operating systems are being used.

If kids do encounter problems online, it's best to stay calm and seek advice from professionals such as law enforcement or a cyber insurance provider.

"If you see or notice anything that might be inappropriate, try to react in a constructive way and make it a teachable moment."

How Mansions of Australia can help

Through its partnership with CyberScout, a TransUnion brand, the Mansions Executive Insurance PDS automatically includes Family CyberSecure, which covers expenses and costs arising from cyberbullying, cyber extortion and identity fraud.

It also covers expenses for data restoration and reputation management following a covered cyber loss.

The cover includes access to an online knowledge portal for cyber safety tips, 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week access to Cyberscout's digital fraud experts, who can provide proactive advice to help prevent incidents from occurring, or advice in response to an incident.

Hayley says providing proactive risk management is a valuable part of the Mansions Executive Insurance personal cyber offering.

"While insurance cover can help with recovery, it can't prevent a cyber event from occurring. We wanted to enrich the insurance cover the Mansions Executive Insurance provides by giving our policyholders access to proactive, specialised cyber risk management," she says.

"We encourage your clients to ring Cyberscout early and ring them often. An event or loss doesn't have to occur – they can be brought in before something happens to prevent it."

For more information

Mansions Executive Insurance protects the assets, lifestyles, and financial wellbeing of individuals and families so they can confidently pursue their passions. For more information about our unique product and service, visit our website, call us on 1300 738 308 or email us at mansions@mansions.com.au.

This document is intended for insurance intermediaries only. The Mansions Executive Insurance Product Disclosure Statement is issued and underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545) (QBE). SGUAS Pty Ltd t/as Mansions of Australia (ABN 15 096 726 895, AFSL 234437) (Mansions) is authorised to distribute this product on behalf of QBE acting under its own AFSL. Any information contained in this document is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your client’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Your client should read the Mansions Executive Insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Target Market Determination (TMD) and Financial Services Guide (FSG), which can be obtained by contacting Mansions on 1300 738 308 or visiting www.mansions.com.au before deciding to acquire, or to continue to hold this product.