While cyber insurance may have been the hot topic on the industry’s lips for the past several years, clients are showing no signs of cyber fatigue, an expert has said.
According to the latest cyber security survey from law firm MinterEllison, the uptake of cyber insurance in Australia has risen over the past year, with 39% of respondents noting they had purchased some form of cover, compared with 24% last term.
Leah Mooney, special counsel at MinterEllison, said that as cyber has continued to hit the headlines and with the long-gestating mandatory breach notification laws taking a lot of focus, she thought the market may suffer from “cyber fatigue,” - but increasing numbers suggest the opposite.
“It was a big year for cyber risk and people seemed to have far less fatigue,” Mooney told Insurance Business.
She stressed that the growth of the market is not done yet.
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With the passage of mandatory breach laws, cyber insurance is expected to continue its rise to prominence in the Australian market as companies continue to move the risk from the IT department to the boardroom.
“Boards are driving the acquisition of cyber insurance,” Mooney continued.
“If you fail to properly investigate the cyber risk and allocate your risk, failure to affect cyber insurance or at least have in place a very solid data breach response plan could ultimately become a D&O issue.”
The report found a 100% increase in C-level concern about cyber incidents and with
ASIC and other regulators keeping cyber resilience top of mind for both small and large businesses, brokers need to continue to discuss the product with their clients.
Mooney noted that brokers have an important role to play in the development of the market and that brokers can utilise employees with technical experience to help discuss the cover on a more detailed level.
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