Why cyber liability policies are finally taking off

As prominent corporations and even government agencies have faced highly public data breaches in recent years, cyber liability policies are gaining more attention and prominence in the insurance industry.

Cyber policies have been around for the past 10 to 15 years, but have gained more submission volumes and buyers recently.

That’s partly because of businesses realizing their exposure after seeing public breaches at banks, tech giants, government departments and other major organizations worldwide.

Education among brokers and buyers has also led to more insurance companies creating cyber insurance coverage. The public has also become more aware of their personal information and angry when it’s been compromised, leading companies to be more aware of how their reputation will be affected by a breach.

There is also more regulation surrounding cyber liability and the legal community has become more involved in the issue, leading more companies to consider the costs of a data breach or network interruption.

There are now about 30 insurers in Canada offering some form of cyber liability policy.

In Canadian Underwriter’s June 2012 issue, lead freelance writer Craig Harris delved further into the issue, including how cyber liability policies are being designed. The article is available here: http://bit.ly/cujun12cyber

Harris also recently spoke with A.M. Best Company for its Global News Roundup on the subject [Video].