At a time when people can stand in front of the United Nations and proclaim that people being mean on the internet constitutes violence, a lone insurance company has decided to do exactly what the proponents of criminalizing disagreement are doing: monetize it.
If people are giving you a hard time on Twitter, Chubb Insurance has you covered. A personal policy will get you up to £50,000 — that’s about $75,000 — towards everything from professional help to compensation for work you miss while licking your virtual wounds. They’ll even help pay for you to move, should your comment section begin to make you feel unsafe around your home computer.
The policy will help those who are victims of wrongful arrest, but it’s just as happy to help you get a reputation management team to help you recover from all of those traumatizing downvotes. They’ll even help you cyber-stalk the offenders, so you can know who posted those pictures of you looking like Hitler.
Chubb’s new policies are a response to “extensive research” about the coverage most sought by its customers. They were also among the first to cover actual internet problems, such as identity theft. And while other insurers have policies to protect people being accused of virtual violence during the ensuing litigation, Chubb is the first one to stand with those making the accusations.
The Association of British Insurers includes the risk of “cyber bullying” alongside hacking and data theft, stating that insurance companies are “innovating all the time to offer people and businesses products to help them manage new and existing risks.”
No word on whether Pepe is considered a new or existing risk.
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