Cyber market could offer policy limits up to $1B in five years, say top execs

NEW YORK — The cyber insurance industry has a long way to go toward offering the capacity and coverage the market needs, but the journey has begun, according to experts speaking during Advisen’s Cyber Risk Insights Conference in October.

Dominic Casserley, current president and deputy CEO of Willis Towers Watson, told a packed room that he expects the industry to find its way on cyber, including building the capacity for a $1 billion policy within five years. This would double reportedly-available per-policy limits.

“The top of the mountain is still shrouded in clouds,” said Casserley, who said he doesn’t expect the major players in the market to change. “We’re in the foothills, there’s a lot of work to do, but we know the path we’re going to go down.”

During the “View from the Top” session, Casserley and Charles Dangelo, president and chief operating officer of Starr Insurance Holdings, discussed challenges for the still-youthful cyber insurance market, including aggregation of risk, meeting demands for the biggest organizations and the needs of smaller companies, and the need for reliable predictive models.

Demand for billion-dollar limits exists from the more sophisticated organizations, according to Dangelo. He said that in the last five to 10 years the industry has managed to build significant capacity, but has yet to “piece together” the $1 billion limit for any insured.