Insurers have halved the amount of cyber cover they provide to customers after the pandemic and home-working drove a surge in ransomware attacks that left them smarting from hefty payouts.
Faced with increased demand, major European and U.S. insurers and syndicates operating in the Lloyd’s of London market have been able to charge higher premium rates to cover ransoms, the repair of hacked networks, business interruption losses and even PR fees to mend reputational damage.
But the increase in ransomware attacks and the growing sophistication of attackers have made insurers wary. Insurers say some attackers may even check whether potential victims have policies that would make them more likely to pay out.
“Insurers are changing their appetites, limits, coverage and pricing,” Caspar Stops, head of cyber at insurance firm Optio, said. “Limits have halved – where people were offering 10 million pounds ($13.50 million), nearly everyone has reduced to five.”
Lloyd’s of London, which has around a fifth of the global cyber market, has discouraged its 100-odd syndicate members from taking on cyber business next year, industry sources say on condition of anonymity. Lloyd’s declined to comment.
