Zurich’s 11th Annual Information Security and Cyber Risk Management Survey

PartnerRe cyber market

11th Annual Information Security and Cyber Risk Management Survey

For the 11th consecutive year Zurich North America and Advisen, a Zywave Company, have collaborated for the Information Security and Cyber Risk Management survey. For much of the last two decades, the story of cyber insurance has been one of building awareness of risk, risk mitigation, and of the need for cyber insurance. The message has been heard: Over 83 percent of respondents now buy cyber insurance, with 66 percent carrying standalone cyber policies. The goal for risk managers and their insurance partners now becomes to move past awareness toward strengthening resilience against all cyber events. This year’s report includes a special section on ransomware and on the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 83 percent of respondents have cyber insurance – the highest percentage to date in the 11 years of the survey.
• For the first time, Cyber Extortion/Ransomware has pulled even with Data Breach, with 95 percent of respondents selecting it as a cover¬age they expect to be included in their policies.
• The hard cyber insurance market is hitting buyers on all fronts including retention, limits, price, and coverage.
• Respondent comments show significant worries about a “completely dislocated” market with triple-digit rate increas¬es, shrinking coverages, and skepticism over whether insurers adequately analyze effective loss prevention measures.
• Buyers’ frustration with the cyber insurance mar¬ket’s policy wording inconsistencies continues.
• The “unknowns” of ransomware may be the biggest issue for risk managers, with “we don’t know what we don’t know” a common complaint.