cyber insurance

The growing demand for cyber insurance is driving increased interest in the cyber insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, with cyber catastrophe bonds emerging as a key tool for risk mitigation, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings.

According to Gallagher Securities, the specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) and investment banking arm of reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, the future of the cyber ILS market is not a question of growth, but rather how quickly the market can evolve to meet evolving opportunities and challenges.

Lockton Re, the reinsurance arm of the independent broking group, has now confirmed the role former Gallagher Re executive Theo Norris has taken at the firm, appointing him UK Capital Markets Structuring and Cyber ILS Leader.

According to a new report authored by Tom Johansmeyer, Global Head of Index Classes, at broker Price Forbes Re, several forms of reinsurance could help support longer-term cyber re/insurance market growth, however, new sources of capital will have to form, along with participation from the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

Further innovation in risk modelling and policy standardisation can help the cyber insurance and reinsurance community unlock more support from the capital markets through catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) markets, the Geneva Association has explained.

The global IT outage caused by a defective software update from CrowdStrike has highlighted the “persistent uncertainty” in the cyber catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class, rating agency AM Best said, also highlighting that there is uncertainty surrounding the tail and potential for loss development, which it seems is misunderstood.

Parametrix, the company that launched as a specialist in parametric cloud downtime cyber insurance and reinsurance protection, has expanded its range of parametric cyber related insurance offerings, launching a new product focused on digital system interruptions and technology performance guarantees.

Analysis from broking group Aon and Parametrix, a specialist in parametric cloud downtime cyber risk transfer, shows that it is possible to gain diversification within cyber portfolios that have cloud outage risk concentrations, with geography one way to achieve that.

New growth projections for the global cyber insurance market suggest a massive need for reinsurance and risk capital, of which the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is expected to become a key source, according to CyberCube.

Concerns over how a cyber catastrophe loss event could manifest mean many insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors remain cautious when it comes to considering allocating to cyber catastrophe bonds and reinsurance, but interest continues to rise and broker Lockton Re expects more efficient capital will flow to cyber risks in time.