Businesses are insuring information asset losses at a significantly lower rate than they insure property risks, even though the former represents a greater potential loss, says the Ponemon Institute L.L.C. in a study released Tuesday.

Although the average potential loss to information assets is $979 million, compared with $770 million for property, plant and equipment, 59% of property’s potential loss is covered by insurance, compared with 15% for information assets, according to the 2017 Global Cyber Risk Transfer Comparison Report, which was conducted by Traverse City, Michigan-based Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Aon Risk Solutions.

The report is based on a survey of 2,168 individuals in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Japan and Latin America that was conducted from December through February. Most respondents were either in finance, treasury and accounting, or risk management.

Other key findings include: n Information assets are underinsured against theft or destruction based on value, probable maximum loss and likelihood of an incident.

• A total of 43% of respondents said their company would disclose a property and plant and equipment loss in their financial statements as a footnote disclosure, while 36% said a material loss to information assets does not require disclosure.

• While 64% of respondents say their companies’ exposure to cyber risks will increase over the next 24 months, only 24% said their company has cyber insurance coverage.

• Most companies experienced a material or significantly disruptive security incident or data breach one or more times during the past two years, with an average economic impact of $3.6 million.

• A total of 87% of respondents said cyber liability is among the top 10 business risks for their company.

For the first time, “organizations have come to the realization” that the total value of their intangible assets is greater than the value of their tangible assets, said Kevin Kalinich, Chicago-based cyber/ network global practice leader for Aon Risk Solutions.

He said the study encourages firms to look at this exposure compared with how they protect their other assets from an insurance standpoint. “That will help you make a better decision as to whether you should buy more” cyber insurance, he said.

“One of the biggest lessons here is that companies are really underinsuring” information assets, said Larry Ponemon, the Ponemon Institute’s chairman and founder.