Cyber market not perfect, but coming of age

Companies of all sizes have to face up to the harsh reality that they will suffer a cyber attack at some point and therefore need to take this threat extremely seriously, according to Eric Maumy, CEO of Verlingue, French member of European Risk Frontiers survey sponsor Worldwide Broker Network (WBN).

“Whatever the size of the company, this subject is to be addressed by the executive committee or equivalent. Cyber involves corporate image and reputation and can have a tremendous impact on the business,” said Mr Maumy.

“Companies that have suffered cyber losses are advertised in the press every day. The issue for us is to make companies aware of the fact that cybercriminality has become a growing business. The question for customers is therefore not ‘Am I exposed?’ but rather: ‘When am I going to be hit?’” he said.

Insurers and brokers can help risk managers prevent cyber risk as well as finance the inevitable loss. But this is a work in progress, conceded Mr Maumy.

“Insurers do try and propose services to assess and reduce risk exposures for the customers. However, this matter has not yet been mastered by insurance companies. Customers want to know what cyber means in their world, how much they are exposed and where. They want to know whether the risk can be reduced and down to what level or amount,” he said.

He added: “We of course have to propose an insurance solution, but also anticipate the capacity to package and integrate those services. This enables us to value our consultant approach to risk management. This is an aspect we often talk about with our WBN colleagues. Our membership of this international network is very useful in this sense.”

It is still early days for the cyber insurance market in Europe, stressed Mr Maumy, but in his view coverage gaps are narrowing. He has certainly seen improvements in coverage, but again stressed the significance of associated services such as emergency response provided by specialist firms.