Lee & White

One of the largest corporate insurers was recently fined by Britain's financial regulator, the FSA for the loss of customer data. Zurich Insurance PLC was fined a record £2.3m for losing 46000 customers' personal information which included identification information, details of bank accounts, credit cards and insured assets which could have resulted in significant loss to customers.

The loss of customers' data dates back to August 2008 when Zurich Insurance had outsourced data work to the company's South African unit which lost an unencrypted back-up tape. The loss however, was not discovered until a year later.

Companies would benefit from learning from the mistakes that cost Zurich Insurance PLC not only £2.3m in fine, but also the loss of its customers' trust which is a valuable asset for any company.

"It served to remind us of the need to strive continually to improve the ways in which we seek to protect customers' data," said Stephen Lewis, chief executive of Zurich Insurance.

Now, what are you as a company doing to ensure that your customers' personal information is protected? Do you have a Personal Data Protection Policy in place in your company, and are your employees aware of them? It would do you well to look at this seriously and ensure you are protected by protecting your customers.