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In today’s digital economy, cyber attacks represent an ever-present and evolving threat for businesses across all sectors and of all sizes. Cyber risks are as much about human and systems errors as they are about malicious threats.
Effective cyber risk management is an essential business practice. It is complementary to overall cyber security and vice-versa, akin to sprin-klers for property insurance. Cyber insurance in turn is an important
tool in managing the transfer of some of this risk. A workable, relevant and affordable cyber insurance market is therefore vital to ensure that the system is robust and resilient and that European businesses can respond swiftly to these changing exposures.
This report Cyber insurance dialogue: how Europe can lead the way to cyber resilience is the result of a pan-European, multi-stakeholder ex-change convened to address the challenges faced by all participants in the cyber insurance chain and to discuss solutions to this societal issue.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE 2018’S PREPARING FOR CYBER INSURANCE REPORT?
In 2018, a landmark year in the cyber world thanks to the GDPR, a joint effort by risk managers, insurers and intermediaries resulted in a first-of-its-kind guidance document to prepare organisations for the dialogue on cyber insurance . Since then, the cyber risk landscape has evolved rapidly, demand for cyber insurance coverage has grown and the cyber insurance market has become more mature.
Cyber risks are an unwelcome side-effect of the fast-paced digitalisa-tion that has benefitted the European economy in recent years. Cyber attacks are a constant and evolving threat, that can result in increasingly complex incidents for enterprises. Cyber attackers are using ever-more sophisticated techniques to exploit targets and the cyber security tools on which many businesses rely may become less effective over a period of time without continued investment.
The ability of businesses – both large and small – to adapt and respond to these threats is crucial for the economy and society as a whole. And while cyber exposures have increased, so too have the minimum stan-dards required by insurance underwriters in order for this risk to be transferred. And yet, for many companies, the uncertainty around the likelihood and impact of a catastrophic loss scenario is creating further challenges, which is also true for the insurance market.
Recently, two major points of discussion for insurance market partici-pants and buyers have emerged: i) cyber war; and ii) the potentially sys-temic nature of cyber risks . These factors have likely been among the considerations for buyers of insurance—some of whom have found the market backdrop challenging.
