A £59 million cyber insurance claim total in the UK jumped all the way to £197 million in the following year. The majority reason for claims also now stems from ransomware or malware attacks, up to 51% of incidents from just 32% the prior year.
Cyber insurance is still expensive, harder than ever to get, and the situation will probably not change for at least a couple of years. The market is particularly hard on small businesses, who are increasingly being left with inadequate coverage options.
When pharmaceutical giant Merck became a casualty of the far-ranging NotPetya cyber attack in June 2017, insurers had claimed that the incident was an “act of war” of the type frequently excepted from insurance claims. New Jersey court has now determined that Merck is entitled to over $1 billion in damages.
The UK financial regulator asked cyber insurance firms to respond to risk assessment and coverage questions about three hypothetical scenarios, ultimately finding too much variance in risk and cost estimates. A few reported that they would not be able to maintain the requisite level of solvency after making all required payments.
Report shows a full four out of five companies have filed at least one cyber insurance claim; half have filed more than one. Insurers’ next move appears to be more stringent and thorough security controls as a standard term of obtaining a policy.
45% of organizations surveyed are not carrying any cyber insurance at all. A little over 80% have no more than $600,000 in coverage, which would likely only cover part of a ransomware payment.