Insurance Industry Contributing to Improved Cyber Hygiene in the U.S., Survey Shows

The property/casualty insurance industry is contributing to improved cyber hygiene in the U.S., a survey of insurers, agents, and brokers conducted by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers shows.

The survey responses represent current views from survey participants, who are members of the groups.

The majority (75%) of APCIA and Council members also agreed that gaps in the cyber insurance marketplace will likely be filled as the market develops over time.

Among respondents from both groups, 69% were aware of applicants that had requested but were unable to obtain cyber insurance because they did not have minimum best practices in place.

Roughly 67% of respondents said the typical cyber insurance policy limit was $1 million, with a few respondents citing $2 million, $5 million and $20 million limits. Most respondents’ largest limit placed ranged from $10 million to $30 million, with the largest identified at $450 million.

In the past year, the typical claim has varied from $20,000 to more $1 million, with the average size ranging from $50,000 to $350,000, according to Council respondents.

A summary of the key findings include:

• Applications for cyber insurance are more likely to be approved when businesses have implemented measures like multi-factor authentication, software security patch update schedules, employee training programs and segmenting authorization to access certain programs or functions in operating systems.
• Many of coverage gaps are expected to be addressed in the long-term (more than three years).
• Respondents believe the market will address coverage limit adequacy, cyber-related physical damage and security breach liability coverages within the next three years.
• Risk types that may have difficulty in obtaining coverage in the market include government entities, utilities, education institutions and healthcare firms.