More Small and Mid-Sized Companies Buying Cyber Insurance

The cyber insurance market for small- to mid-sized companies is much friendlier than the market for larger insureds, according to the findings of an annual survey just released by Betterley Risk Consultants.

The Cyber/Privacy Insurance Market Survey 2015 notes that there are many insurance products competing for the business of small and mid-sized (SME) organizations.

Brokers are actively selling cyber policies to their SME insureds, and more are buying than ever before, as they realize the potential for liability, breach and response costs, arising out of the possession of private data.

The report says:

Rates for the SME segment are still competitive and renewals are generally flat, even a bit soft, undoubtedly affected by the numerous insurers getting a foothold in the cyber insurance market. Smaller insureds tend to have lower limits and often have relatively modest claims.”

In contrast, cyber coverage for larger organizations, especially those in retail and healthcare, are finding it more difficult to buy adequate limits at a reasonable price, the report suggests, as insurers are increasingly strict about adherence to cyber security and payment card industry standards.

For the larger/retail/healthcare insured, rates are rising, with increases in the 10-25 percent range most common. But the report points out:

This is for untroubled organizations; it’s worse (up to 200 percent) if they have claims experience that has yet to result in significantly improved cybersecurity measures.”

While annual premium volume information about the U.S. cyber insurance market is hard to come by, the report concludes that annual gross written premium is growing and may be as much $2.75 billion in 2015, up from $2 billion in last year’s report.

We think the market has nowhere to go but up—as long as insurers can still write at a profit.”

This year’s report includes products offered by 31 insurers, up from 28 in 2014.

Check out the Insurance Information Institute’s (I.I.I.) online resource for business insurance here.