Overview and key points
When technology that your business relies on suddenly becomes unavailable, the impact can extend far beyond IT.
While some users are reporting improvements in access to Microsoft 365 services, disruption continues for others. If your organisation has been affected, your Partners& adviser is here to help you understand your cover, consider whether your insurer should be notified and talk you through the practical steps to take next.
What’s happened?
A major global Microsoft outage has disrupted access to Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Teams and Copilot, leaving businesses around the world unable to access some of the tools they rely on every day. The disruption began shortly after 4pm GMT on 12 November, initially affecting Outlook before spreading to other Microsoft 365 services. Microsoft has attributed the disruption to infrastructure issues and increased system loads, with no indication at this stage that the outage is the result of a cyber-attack.
Efforts to restore services have proved challenging, with Microsoft acknowledging that some of its initial remedial actions did not have the expected effect. While access is improving for some users, the impact of the outage is still being felt.
For affected businesses, this is more than an IT inconvenience. Losing access to email, collaboration tools and other critical systems can quickly interrupt day-to-day operations, affect productivity and create additional costs.
How might your insurance programme respond?
While a cyber-attack has not been identified as the cause, that does not necessarily mean insurance cover can be ruled out. Some cyber and technology insurance policies may provide cover for certain non-malicious system failures and technology outages, as well as resulting business interruption or dependent business interruption losses. However, cover varies considerably between policies. Whether a particular loss is covered will depend on your individual policy wording, including its definitions, exclusions, limits and any applicable waiting periods.
The important thing is not to make assumptions about whether you are covered. Speak to us and we can help you understand how your policy may respond and whether you should notify your insurer.
What should you do now? Our top tips:
If your organisation has been affected by the outage, we recommend taking four practical steps.
- Be alert to scams:
Periods of widespread disruption can create opportunities for fraudsters. Exercise particular caution if you receive unexpected calls, emails, SMS or WhatsApp messages claiming to offer technical support or help restore access to your systems.
Don’t provide login credentials or remote access unless you’ve independently verified who you’re dealing with. - Speak to your Partners& contact:
Let your usual Partners& contact know how the outage is affecting your organisation. Tell us when you first experienced disruption, which systems have been affected and the impact it is having on your business.
We can review your insurance programme, help you understand whether your policy may respond and advise whether a notification should be made to your insurer. - Keep a record of the financial impact:
Start documenting the impact now rather than trying to reconstruct it later. Keep a record of any loss of income and unexpected expenditure associated with the outage. This could include additional operating or staffing costs, expenditure on alternative systems or suppliers, and other reasonable costs incurred to maintain operations or minimise disruption. - Preserve relevant evidence:
Keep copies of relevant communications and service updates from Microsoft and your IT provider, together with screenshots of error messages or service notifications where appropriate.
It is also worth maintaining a simple timeline recording when the disruption began, the systems affected, the actions you took and when access was restored.
We’re here when you need us
When a major technology provider experiences disruption, there are some things outside your organisation’s control. What you can control is how you respond.
Our role is to help you understand your risk, your cover and the practical steps you can take to protect your position and build greater resilience.
If you’ve been affected by the Microsoft outage, speak to your usual Partners& adviser. We’re here to help you understand how your insurance may respond and what you should do next.
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