Challenges in the Cyber Insurance Industry
Cyber insurance is rapidly evolving; in fact, what’s core coverage today was probably not available a few years ago. Unfortunately, insurers don’t always understand the risks they’re underwriting because all of this is new and there is limited information on the losses organizations have suffered. Many insurers lack the technology, knowledge and strategy to deal with this new industry; they don’t see the bigger picture of evolving risk and threats. Cyber insurance is vital, but all these challenges prevent insurers from advancing and growing the market.
Incredible Growth in Cyber Insurance
Even so, the cyber insurance market is booming; in fact, it’s predicted to grow to $20 billion in premium revenue in the not too distant future. The board asked the Symantec executive team a year ago to see what we should do in this market.
The answer was that Symantec had a phenomenal opportunity to use the company’s unique assets, IP and telemetry to analyze, assess, and mitigate the risk to help the cyber insurance market grow. Not only does Symantec understand the risks, we can prevent, reduce and remediate threats when needed. Symantec operates one of the world’s largest cyber intelligence networks. We approach cyber risks in a holistic manner and can help grow/advance the cyber insurance industry. Actuaries, underwriters, brokers and insureds can tap into Symantec’s threat intelligence using innovative data tools. That’s part of the story of what we are doing.
Now, 14 months down the road, Symantec has:
- Assembled a team of actuaries, insurance experts and risk analysis experts, and established collaborations across our entire company to go after this opportunity (SRL, Cyber Security Services, STAR, WW Sales)
- Launched five pilot go-to-market programs with leading insurers; we are piloting ways in which insurers can refer to or even sell our products
- Launched a cyber resilience readiness assessment product in record time to help companies obtain a self-assessment of their cyber-resilience
- Delivered prototypes for catastrophe modeling and underwriting tools, and secured a development partnership with Marsh & McClennan’s Guy Carpenter division, the leading cyber reinsurance brokerage firm
How This Helps Our Symantec Customers
Our cyber insurance initiatives have gained momentum―and it’s unleashing opportunities for us to explain to the industry that they are not secure and do not have all the answers today to identify and quantify cyber risks. Symantec believes in the importance of approaching cyber risk management holistically. We aim to partner with insurers and re-insurers to help our customers minimize the cost of managing their cyber-risk. This is win-win-win. We can win, and our customers and partners can win too.
Innovation is about momentum and collectively working to solve problems. Cyber insurance is a new area and Symantec is helping to drive new growth. We’re excited to work with other industry leaders to constantly bring new things to the table. Cyber insurance is not a standalone defense; it’s another layer of defense that compliments other security efforts. The holistic approach Symantec takes is another example of our ongoing innovation.
Be sure to read Roxane Divol's “What Every CISO Needs to Know About Cyber Insurance” and follow her @rdivol