In the quickly changing world of cyber cover, insurers are racing to develop and keep up with both the speed of technology and the demand of clients.
Adrian Scott has just been appointed as the head of cyber liability at
Pen Underwriting, a new role specifically created to improve the capabilities of the cyber risk department at the underwriting firm.
Scott has 25 years of experience across professional and financial lines, including a decade in cyber insurance. Most recently he was Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer at Ridge Global. The cybersecurity firm was founded and headed by the former US head of homeland security Tom Ridge.
Speaking to
Insurance Business UK, Scott said Pen’s ambition is to grow the cyber security division it has already built over the last year and make it a larger part of the business.
“Given that background, the role itself is to take what they’ve done, which is impressive to date, and grow that globally,” said Scott.
The challenge of cyber security, and the reason insurers are creating new positions, is because the work to connect departments to properly manage risks is immense. Scott said cyber cover is the only line of insurance he can think of that requires executive management, IT departments, risk managers, HR people and legal departments all involved in a single area of risk.
“All those people are involved in things that can impact a cyber insurance policy,” said Scott. “Those are not natural bedfellows when it comes to looking at risk, but they have to figure out how to work together.”
The challenge for brokers is staying on top of this highly technical area. Scott said he believes brokers can find this difficult, but education programs to get them up to speed will be a priority for Pen.
“If only to make sure they are describing what we do correctly and there are no misunderstandings,” said Scott. This will also make sure brokers have the knowledge they need to find the products their clients need.
Scott also said he believes insurers are currently doing a good job of staying involved in development and how things are changing.
“They do adapt to the changing risks as they appear. Part of that is you want to sell a product that’s current and competitive,” said Scott. “Unless you’re in it every day, it’s one of those ones where it’s very hard.”
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