Emergence Underwriting has released a risk management checklist for brokers to use with their clients to help mitigate against cyberattacks.
The checklist provides a number of questions brokers can ask to assess cyber risk and is aimed at the SME market.
Gerry Power, national head of sales at Emergence, said that while awareness is rising in the SME sector, take-up remains “negligible” with “massive” numbers uninsured. He told Insurance Business that the best way for brokers to help protect their clients is to bring the issue to their level.
“The brokers who bring cyber risk back to a client’s own businesses are the ones that are more successful,” Power said.
“Those brokers who are able to explain to a client ‘this is what your journey will look like and are you prepared for that, and if you are not prepared you need to do something about it’. Insurance is part of the solution because it will provide you with the balance sheet to support you but it is not just about insurance, it is about risk management.”
The Emergence checklist outlines that brokers should ask clients whether their software licenses are up to date with antivirus updates enabled, how often clients review the information they store internally and advise that businesses formulate a plan of action in the event of an attack.
SME clients should also look to train their staff to be aware of any suspicious emails or activity, as Jeff Gonlin, head of underwriting at Emergence, said that this remains “one of the biggest wildcards” in cyber risk.
“That is not an IT department issue, that comes from the people running the business,” Gonlin said. “That is about business management and the culture you have.
“We have seen as many, or more, losses caused by human error as we have from risk configuration or technical risk.”
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