A new report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) has indicated that that demand for cyber insurance is set to grow amid a series of high-profile cyber attacks.
The report’s findings are coming after analysts noted that Beazley, the specialist cyber insurance provider, sees 18% compound annual growth for that cover in 2024-2030, while other major firms, such as Munich Re, Hiscox, Axis Capital, and Chubb, also see rising demand.
Commenting on the latest report’s findings, Senior Insurance Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Kevin Ryan, said: “United Healthcare’s Change Healthcare medical billing processor, which links one third of Americans to health-insurance payments, suffered a cyber-attack in February, crippling the payments systems of a significant number of hospitals. The May attack on Ticketmaster compromising 560 million customer records is a further example of the unrelenting cyber-crime challenge.
“An estimated $8 trillion was lost globally to cybercrime in 2023, according to technology consultants Cyber Security Ventures, a significant increase vs. the $600 billion McAfee estimated in 2018. It’s clear the seriousness of attacks is increasing. As such, Allianz has said that cyber risk is the No. 1 concern globally, along with business interruption”, Ryan added.
A news report from Reinsurance News, an industry-focused online medium, showed that following 2023, which saw more than 317 million ransomware attacks globally, a notable decrease from 493 million in 2022, and 623 million in 2021, cybersecurity firm, Sonicwall monitored a 36% decline year-over-year globally, a one third fall in the US and Europe but an 11% rise in global malware attacks.
According to the report from Bloomberg Intelligence, the declines reflect both slowing economic activity and wins against ransomware perpetrators.
It would be recalled that second quarter this year marked the second highest number of reported ransomware attacks in a single quarter.
According to Corvus Insurance’s Q2 2024 Cyber Threat Report and based on data from ransomware leak sites, the report identified 1,248 victims in Q2 alone.
Despite insurers witnessing strong rises in cyber insurance premium rates in 2022, these are now beginning to slow, with Beazley’s 2023 cyber rates falling 5% following a notable 40% rise in 2022, added BI.
Within mature markets, such as the US and Europe, analysts noted that cyber insurance may be one of the few areas of insurance to record “real growth.”
Speaking on the ugly ransomware attacks and how to curb them, Ryan advised: “Insurers have the infrastructure to work collaboratively with clients and provide services before and after malware incidents, thus minimizing potentially negative outcomes. Cyber threats and infiltration techniques are moving to more sustained levels – known as “advanced persistent threats” – away from quick, one-off acts.”
In addition, QBE projected that the number of disruptive and destructive global cyber-attacks taking place each year was set to rise by 105% to the end of 2024.
