Cyber insurance uptake nearly triples: Survey

The number of companies buying cyber insurance has nearly tripled this year compared with last year, according to a boards of directors survey that was released Tuesday.

Twenty-eight percent of directors say their company has purchased cyber insurance, according to the survey of 150 corporate directors that Chicago-based professional services firm BDO USA L.L.P. conducted in September. This compares with 10% who reported purchasing the coverage in last year’s survey.

Some 22% of board members said their companies experienced a cyber breach during the past two years compared with 11% who reported a breach two years ago.

Meanwhile, 69% of corporate directors said their board is more involved in cyber security than 12 months ago, up from 59% in last year’s survey.

While 87% of directors indicated they are briefed on cyber security at least once a year, including 33% who are briefed at least quarterly, just 45% of corporate directors say their company has a cyber breach/incident response plan in place. Thirty-four percent do not have such a plan and 21% said they were not sure.