Three general insurance titans in Japan have reported that their sales of cyber insurance policies have tripled, exceeding 1,000 clients for fiscal year 2016.
Demand for insurance against cyber attacks is surging, as the risk of data theft, business interruption, and other forms of damage has spread even to small- and middle-sized companies.
According to the Japan Network Security Association (JNSA) said the market for cyber attack insurance is expected to reach ¥15.6 billion (US$136.6 million) in the year ending March 2018. The JNSA reported that interest in cyber cover grew after the WannaCry ransomware attack that affected computers in at least 150 countries in May.
The first insurer in Japan to offer cyber insurance,
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, said that the number of its policyholders tripled in the year ended March 2017. The insurer also offers consulting services to help firms shore up their cyber defences and estimate the amount of damage a potential cyber attack could cause.
Another top Japanese insurer,
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa, released a policy in October aimed at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with relatively low premiums. It reported that new policies for all of its cyber insurance products grew by five times in the six months ending in March 2017, compared to the same period a year before.
Meanwhile, MS&AD Insurance Group said that its cyber insurance sales grew by 3.7 times in the year ended March. The insurer provides training to its customers, mainly SME employees, on how to prevent cyber attacks propagated via e-mail.
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