The Finnish subsidiary of Norman Ibas, a company specialised in data recovery and computer forensics, believes that the recovery insurance model is the first of its kind in the world.
Jyri Pohja, CEO of Norman Ibas Oy, is confident that there will be a worldwide market for this "bit insurance".
"Our view is that we have created a concept here in Finland that is novel in the whole world. We are considering how we can expand it more widely into other markets in Europe, America and Asia," explains Pohja.
Data recovery is expensive
Pohja points out that recovering files from a damaged computer can be expensive.
"Dealing with physical damage generally requires a cleanroom and then going very deeply into the equipment. In such cases, prices usually start at 1,200 euros and up."
In contrast, the recovery of files lost through user error or the action of computer viruses is often a lot less.
Photos and research papers
The Pohjantähti Mutual Insurance Company started including payment for data recovery in its home insurance policies about a year ago.
"There have been dozens of cases of successful data recovery and the success rate for restoring lost files has been very good. Private individuals have considered the most important files to recover as being their photographs, memoires and research papers," explains Rami Mäkinen, who heads up sales and marketing for Pohjantähti.
Another Finnish company, Local Insurance Mutual, has also started covering the expense of data recovery. The terms for both companies are that the computer has been accidentally damaged, for example by being dropped, or sustaining water or fire damage.
"Physical damage caused by dropping or some other blow to the computer - or as the result of getting wet. These types of damage are compensated. User error, viruses and other such problems are not covered by policy terms," points out Timo Ekholm of the Local Insurance Mutual Company.