News

Beazley’s Bantick: Alternative capital vital to cyber market development

The cyber insurance sector has reached a point where it must look towards alternative capital to help the market develop, according to Paul Bantick, Beazley’s global head of cyber.

Cowbell makes “difficult” decision to trim headcount by 12% as conditions soften

Cowbell has trimmed its headcount by 12 percent, with founder Jack Kudale saying a “difficult” decision was needed in the face of rising fixed costs and softening cyber conditions, as the insurtech focuses on reaching profitability in its target window.

Zywave panel: Cyber reinsurers to increase focus on tail risk at 1.1

Cyber reinsurers will increasingly focus on tail risk at the upcoming renewals amid growing privacy claims, while war exclusions will remain a hot topic and loss ratio caps are not going away, speakers at a Zywave conference have suggested.

Moody’s: Buyers to maintain cyber coverage despite premium hikes

Despite a 50 percent median increase in cyber premiums between 2020 and 2022, only 3 percent of debt issuers said they planned to reduce the amount of cyber coverage they purchase, a new survey by Moody’s has found.

Aon leads casualty bench strength but Marsh’s Brian Stuart takes top individual ranking

Aon has retained its position as the bench strength leader for casualty in this year’s London’s Leading Brokers Report, while also leading the cyber class, The Insurer can reveal.

CFC’s Burns calls for cyber equivalent of the NHC

CFC head of cyber strategy James Burns has made the case for introducing a body for identifying catastrophic cyber events rather than the market taking a scenario-specific approach to trying to deal with systemic risk.

RT Connector readies to add cyber and commercial auto to platform

RT Connector - RT Specialty’s digital marketplace for micro commercial business – is adding further offerings to its product suite with the platform poised to launch cyber liability and commercial auto coverages in the next few months.

Coalition adds HDI to Canadian cyber capacity panel

Coalition has added HDI Global Specialty to the capacity panel supporting its Canadian cyber and tech E&O offering.

Zywave cyber panel: Large buyers struggling to structure towers amid differing war exclusions

A lot of progress has been made on war exclusions in the past six months but it can still be a challenge for large US cyber buyers to work out the differences between versions and to structure their programs so they have the best wording, panellists at a Zywave cyber conference suggested.

NCSC’s Ellison: Impossible to combat evolving cyber threat without public-private cooperation

The evolving cyber threat landscape cannot be addressed by any single entity, with collaboration between government, the insurance industry and other bodies necessary to build resilience, according to Jonathan Ellison, director of resilience and future technology at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre.

Paladin Cyber hires Wieber and Leanza and rebrands to Upfort

Full-stack cyber security and insurance platform Paladin Cyber has rebranded to Upfort after what it described as “rapid growth and market demand”, hiring Jeremy Wieber from Farmers Insurance and Matthew Leanza from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.

Brindle: Cyber is “scary” but we are now open to the idea

Fidelis founder Richard Brindle has warned that reinsurers with heavy cat exposures are “running the risk of ruin”, in a typically forthright interview that includes heavy criticism of vendor models and signs of a moderating stance on cyber.

Tokio Marine HCC hires Coalition’s Lyle as head of cyber claims

Tokio Marine HCC’s cyber and professional lines group has named Catherine Lyle as senior vice president and head of cyber claims and incident, with the executive joining after six years at insurtech Coalition.

Travelers Risk Index: Over 25% of businesses haven’t implemented basic cyber practices

This year’s edition of the Travelers Risk Index has shown that cyber threats remain a leading concern for US businesses, but at least a quarter of firms are not even implementing the most basic cybersecurity practices.

RPC: UK financial services sees 242% increase in annual cybersecurity breaches

UK financial services reported 640 cybersecurity breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office in the year up to 30 June 2023, according to international law firm RPC.

Sompo International hires Chubb’s Gossé to lead European cyber insurance

Sompo International has appointed Chubb’s Jérôme Gossé as head of cyber insurance for continental Europe.

Aon: US cyber loss ratio improves 22 pts as premiums grow 50% in 2022

US cyber written premium reported to the NAIC grew 50 percent to $7.22bn in 2022 while the loss ratio decreased 22 points to 45 percent, Aon has highlighted in a new report, but the broker warned of a challenge to maintain favourable loss ratio trends in 2023 in the face of headwinds.

Coalition: Severity of ransomware claims hit record high in H1 2023 with 117% increase

Ransomware claims severity hit a record high in the first half of 2023, with an average loss amount of more than $365,000 marking a year-on-year increase of 117 percent, according to Coalition’s latest cyber claims report.

Corvus expands capacity partnership with Travelers to US products

Cyber MGA Corvus Insurance has expanded its relationship with Travelers to US products, adding to its existing arrangement in the continental European market.

Tiernan: Cyber “pre-mortem” exercise reassures on non-state cat disaster scenarios

Lloyd’s is “comfortable” that its current book is able to withstand disaster scenarios relating to a criminal cyber catastrophe event following the Corporation’s “pre-mortem” exercise