London & New York - October 5 2023 - A recent poll of brokers across the United States* conducted by CFC, the specialist insurance provider, pioneer in emerging risk and market leader in cyber, revealed that IT departments are the number one obstacle to overcome when it comes to selling cyber policies.
Almost a third of brokers (31%) said that they had encountered a challenge from their client’s IT lead or department, stating that they didn’t need cyber insurance.
“There’s a long-held misperception amongst IT professionals that cyber insurers are pitching insurance as a replacement for security controls, when in fact the reality is vastly different,” says Michael Phillips, Cyber Practice Leader USA at CFC. “Despite best efforts, cyber attacks can still happen. Just as putting locks on your doors doesn’t negate the need for property insurance, strong IT security measures don’t negate the value of cyber insurance. A good cyber policy will not only transfer the financial risk associated with a cyber event, which can be substantial, but also offers an additional layer of proactive services to help prevent an attack from happening in the first place.”
Despite best efforts, cyber attacks can still happen. Just as putting locks on your doors doesn’t negate the need for property insurance.
CFC’s cyber insurance solution combines award winning cyber cover, unrivalled incident response and proactive cyber protection which identifies cyber threats targeting policyholders and alerts them through CFC’s Response App.
In addition to these proactive cyber security services, CFC’s comprehensive cyber solution provides cover for a range of costs associated with a cyber event such as:
- cyber incident response costs including IT forensics, legal, breach notification and crisis communications
- system damage and business interruption including loss of income
- full data re-creation including employing contract staff or employee overtime
- network security and privacy liability including management liability arising from a cyber event and regulatory fines and penalties
And by providing unlimited reinstatement for first party coverages, CFC policyholders aren’t restricted by a policy aggregate and the full benefits of cover are available each time a crisis strikes, even if they experience multiple cyber incidents in the same policy period.
Brokers also cited cost as the second biggest obstacle to overcome, with a quarter saying that clients felt cyber insurance was too expensive.
Price is always an issue, but the cost of a cyber claim is so much greater.
“Price is always an issue, but the cost of a cyber claim is so much greater,’ explains Phillips. “Ultimately cybercrime is costing US businesses of all sizes, but in particular smaller organizations, billions of dollars each year. Rather than being mutually exclusive, IT departments and proactive cyber insurers like CFC can work hand-in-hand to afford businesses the best possible protection against cybercrime at a price that reflects the necessary level of protection and support.”
Read more about CFC’s proactive approach to cyber insurance here.
* 568 brokers tuned in to CFC’s “Selling Cyber in 2023” webinar and 277 responded to the poll conducted during the event
About CFC
CFC is a specialist insurance provider, pioneer in emerging risk and market leader in cyber. Our global insurance platform uses cutting-edge technology and data science to deliver smarter, faster underwriting and protect customers from today’s most critical business risks.
Headquartered in London with offices in New York, San Francisco, Austin, Brussels and Brisbane, CFC has over 800 employees and is trusted by more than 130,000 businesses in 90 countries. Learn more at cfc.com and LinkedIn.
