By taking a holistic approach, insurers will find sustainable growth in cyber, an increasingly vital line of insurance for our business customers, writes Carlos Rodríguez Sanz, Regional Cyber Product Leader APAC & Europe at AXA XL.
Cyber insurance is currently the single largest organic growth opportunity for the commercial property/casualty insurance sector. However, in order to meet demand, cyber insurance requires a holistic approach that puts expertise, risk prevention, incident response and risk transfer on an equal footing.
Cyber protection gap
The global cyber insurance market is predicted to grow rapidly over the next two years, driven by rapid digitisation, an evolving threat landscape and low penetration levels.
. The study noted that the cyber insurance protection gap remains high, with under 5% of companies globally thought to purchase cyber insurance at present. However, 35% of companies surveyed said they were likely to buy cyber insurance in future.
As a rapidly developing area of risk, we recognise the growing importance of cyber to businesses large and small and we are committed to accompanying our clients as they transform their businesses and adapt to a changing risk landscape. Against this backdrop, our ambition is to grow our cyber portfolio and we are increasing our allocation of resources and capacity to this important line of business.
Four pillars for growth
Our ambition to grow our cyber insurance business is based on four pillars: training; cyber risk prevention services; incident response services; and risk transfer, all underpinned by best-in-class data, analytics and expertise.
We aim to provide value beyond cyber risk transfer, continually enhancing our risk prevention services, supporting our customers and closing the gap between their protection needs and our risk appetite. For example, we have partnered with SecurityScorecard, a global leader in cybersecurity ratings, to help customers identify vulnerabilities and prioritise mitigation actions.
In addition to our existing partnership with cyber security and incident response firm S-RM (Global Intelligence and Cyber Security Consultancy), we are building out our cyber risk engineering capabilities. Over the course of 2023, we will continue to recruit cyber risk consultants to enter a deeper risk dialogue with customers and develop risk prevention and mitigation services, as well as support the underwriting process. For example, we recently added a new cyber risk consultant to our German office.
People are key to the sustainability of cyber insurance. There is a need to raise the skill and knowledge level within the industry, and we are developing a cyber training framework for our employees and customers. Investing in data and analytics will also help us better understand the health of our portfolio, identify trends and find ways to prevent incidents.
Ongoing partnership
There is no cyber insurance without transparency and sharing of risk data. This complex and evolving area of risk will require a close working relationship between insurer and insured to understand the risks and react quickly to the changing threat landscape. Rather than a once-a-year interaction at renewal, we want to continually engage with customers.
This approach will enable us to support clients as they improve their cyber resilience, even where they fall short of our underwriting criteria. Where a company does not meet our cyber security maturity and risk management expectations, our service providers can help our clients to identify the issues, provide advice and services to improve cyber security and resilience.
Building resilience
Cyber remains a challenging area of risk for the insurance market. In addition to the ongoing challenge from ransomware attacks, war in Ukraine has reminded us of the threat posed by nation states, while the expansion of cloud computing, digital supply chains, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence poses new and sometimes little understood risks.
That said, the cyber insurance market is in a much better place than it was even two years ago. Increased awareness of cyber risk has seen many organisations strengthen cyber security, while governments and regulators continue to encourage increased levels of cyber resilience. In tandem, the market has increased its focus on improving the underlying risk and is constantly working to improve wordings and provide clarity on what insurers can cover.
Despite its many challenges, the cyber insurance product remains comprehensive and has proven its value in recent years, paying ransomware claims quickly and efficiently. However, if the industry is to meet demand for cyber insurance, growth must be based on the principles of transparency, risk mitigation and partnership. We cannot cover all risk, but we can do more to identify the needs of business and find solutions where possible.
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US- and Canada-Issued 色多多视频 Policies
In the US, the 色多多视频insurance companies are: Catlin 色多多视频 Company, Inc., Greenwich 色多多视频 Company, Indian Harbor 色多多视频 Company, XL 色多多视频 America, Inc., XL Specialty 色多多视频 Company and T.H.E. 色多多视频 Company. In Canada, coverages are underwritten by XL Specialty 色多多视频 Company - Canadian Branch and AXA 色多多视频 Company - Canadian branch. Coverages may also be underwritten by Lloyd’s Syndicate #2003. Coverages underwritten by Lloyd’s Syndicate #2003 are placed on behalf of the member of Syndicate #2003 by Catlin Canada Inc. Lloyd’s ratings are independent of AXA XL.
US domiciled insurance policies can be written by the following 色多多视频surplus lines insurers: XL Catlin 色多多视频 Company UK Limited, Syndicates managed by Catlin Underwriting Agencies Limited and Indian Harbor 色多多视频 Company. Enquires from US residents should be directed to a local insurance agent or broker permitted to write business in the relevant state.
