Crawford & Company, the world’s largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management and outsourcing services to carriers, brokers and corporations, and global professional services firm Aon have announced the joint publication of the Aon|Crawford Guide to Successfully Managing Cyber Claims.
The guide is a joint effort between the firms to help organizations better mitigate cyber risk and manage insurance claims more effectively in the event of an incident. It examines how advances in cyberattacks – particularly in relation to ransomware – are resulting in a rapid increase in loss frequency and severity, while simultaneously increasing the complexity of managing the business interruption impact. The guide says that it is imperative for businesses to focus not only on cyber risk prevention, but also preparedness and response, given the associated costs and the reputational damage arising from cyber incidents.
Aon and Crawford urge organizations to create a preparedness posture for cyber events and potential exposures that details management roles post-incident, establishes what specialist support may be required to manage the incident – including IT forensics, forensic accounting and legal – and ensures that protocols are in place to guarantee a rapid response.
The guide also examines the ramifications of the evolving cyber threat environment on cyber insurance policies. It advises businesses to review existing policies and understand how coverage will respond in the event of an incident. It also details how early engagement with insurers, direct correspondence, approvals where required, and agreement to certain causes of action can help ensure a smoother experience in the event of a claim.
“Cyber-related business interruption is a costly and potentially ruinous expense,” said Paul Handy, global head of cyber at Crawford. “Organizations should therefore focus not only on risk prevention, but also preparedness in the event of a cyber incident. A key part of this is understanding the claims process. By engaging with a loss adjuster with full-time responsibility to support the insured through the assessment and quantification, policyholders can be much more confident in achieving their desired outcome.”
“In Aon’s 2021 Global Risk Management Survey, cyber risk was ranked as the number-one current and predicted future risk globally,” said Neil Harrison, global chief claims officer at Aon. “Organizations should be ready to work in collaboration with their loss adjuster, together with their broker, insurer and other advisors to manage the claims process and help optimize the outcome both in the immediate crisis phase and in the recovery. We are committed to helping our clients make better decisions when navigating this increasingly complex risk and come through an incident with their balance sheet and, just as importantly, reputation intact.”
