Insurance Coverage – Cyber Law Watch

No cyber insurance? Check your policy – you may be covered for more than you think

Mar 02 2020

By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Max Evans

Over the past 2 years we’ve seen a steady rise in interest in cyber insurance policies to cover key online risks.

However, as the terms and coverage for cyber insurance offerings steadily standardise, it may not be worth throwing out your old policies just yet.

In his recent article available here our colleague Gregory Wright discusses several recent US cases where insurance holders were found to be covered under more general policies of insurance – even if they weren’t specifically directed towards cyber risks.

Riding in cars with hackers

Sep 08 2019

By Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Alyssia Totham

Ransom-based hacking techniques have primarily been limited to the intangible. We live in a world where unauthorised access to email accounts, bank accounts, and computer systems that may otherwise be private is no longer uncommon.

In some situations, hackers demand a lump sum in return for reinstating control of the accounts and systems to its owners and managers, and otherwise refusing to pay this ransom can likely leave our information and data at the mercy of hackers.

Boards Push Insurers to Quantify Cyber Risks

Nov 02 2016

By Cameron Abbott and Rebecca Murray

US risk management firm Advisen recently held the Cyber Risk Insights Conference where insurers, brokers, corporate risk managers and CSOs came together to discuss the importance of company CFOs quantifying cybersecurity risks. Panelists included the risk managers of Merck and Time, who both classified cybersecurity risk exposure as a top danger faced by corporations. Time’s risk management department, for example, is working to quantify the company’s exposure to cyber attacks so that it can transfer some of the risks to insurers. However, Time’s director of risk management says culling all cyber-risk-management information together in a meaningfully predictive way is a challenging task.

Furthermore, gaining assistance from insurers about how to quantitatively define cybersecurity risk is also problematic as the insurance industry is only getting started on truly understanding how to forecast cyber losses. Cyber security practice leader for insurance broker Lockton Cos, Ben Beeson has revealed that insurers have only really become aware of the vast extent of loss that can eventuate when handling personal data this year. Keeping up with incredibly evolving and dynamic cybersecurity threats is sure to be an immense challenge for insurers. Read more here.

Top Five Cybersecurity Insurance Tips

Oct 27 2015

By Jim Bulling and Roberta Anderson

The increased risks posed by cybersecurity breaches has meant that many organisation are looking to insurance to address some of the exposure. But cybersecurity insurance is still new and there are things which companies wishing to purchase cybersecurity insurance should look out for. Here are five tips if you are considering obtaining or renewing a cybersecurity insurance policy.

Cyber Insurance is Only a (Small) Part of the Solution

Oct 13 2015

By Jim Bulling

Insurers in the U.S. and Europe are forecasting that the market for cyber insurance will grow exponentially in the next five years as more companies look to beef up protection against malicious cyber attacks.

While the insurers see a significant new market emerging, there are signs that they are wary of the risks and this is impacting on premiums and the limitations being placed on cover. There are a number of insurers offering cyber cover in the Australian market and companies looking for additional protection would be well served by closely examining the terms of the proposed cover to ensure it extends to the more significant cyber risks and does so in a way that complements rather than overlaps the existing insurance program which an organisation has in place (eg Public Indemnity , Directors and Officers Liability, Crime and Property).

It is also worth noting that insurance should only be seen as one component of an organisation’s risk management processes around cybersecurity. A leading insurance broker has suggested that investment in technology is the most important factor in reducing the risk profile while the contribution from insurance is much more modest and to be effective needs to be accompanied by investment in technology.

UK Government Issues Cybersecurity Insurance Report

Mar 10 2015

by Jim Bulling and Julia Baldi

The UK government has issued a report on cybersecurity insurance which details new joint initiatives between government and the insurance sector to help firms get to grips with cyber risk. The report encourages businesses and financial institutions to review their risk management processes and seek to obtain ‘Cyber Essentials certifications’ from insurers to ensure adequate cybersecurity is in place.

View the Press Release and Report.

Catagory:Insurance Coverage