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.

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.