Printed from BusinessInsurance.com

Customized cyber coverage offered with $100 million in limits

Posted On: Apr. 11, 2016 12:00 AM CST

Customized cyber coverage offered with $100 million in limits

SAN DIEGO – Beazley Group P.L.C. and a unit of Munich Reinsurance Co. Ltd. unit have entered into a coinsurance partnership to provide buyers with cyber limits up to $100 million or €100 million and coverage that is tailored, the insurers announced Monday.

Coverage elements can include hacking or malware attacks, distributed denial-of-service attacks, cyber extortion, and property and bodily injury exposures, among other things, Beazley and Munich Re said during a meeting at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.'s conference in San Diego.

London-based Beazley and Munich-based Corporate Insurance Partner said they have seen significant demand from large multinational buyers for “meaningful” cyber limits and expansion of the perils covered.

The insurers said they already have bound coverage under the partnership.

“Over the past six to 12 months, we have seen a different awareness towards cyber” from the world's largest buyers, said Paul Bantick, U.K. focus group leader for tech, media and business services for specialty lines at Beazley in London. Cyber risk has become “a boardroom, CEO-level issue, and that is driving several behaviors.”

For example, large companies have started to understand the true cost of cyber exposures, including the financial and reputational costs involved, he said.

“So they are looking at their holistic cyber exposure,” Mr. Bantick said.

“Breach is still a big risk,” but buyers also are concerned with bodily injury and business interruption risks, he said.

Many need to place towers of coverage of up to $1 billion, so underwriters and brokers need to provide access to large limits, Mr. Bantick said, which led to Beazley and Corporate Insurance Partner's decision to combine their capacity and experience.

“Capacity plays a huge role, but also so does the coverage,” said Claudia Hasse, chief underwriting officer of special enterprise risks at Corporate Insurance Partner in Munich. “Large corporate accounts really appreciate the tailored approach.”

She said Beazley has worked extensively with upper middle-market clients on cyber risks, while Corporate Insurance Partners has taken “deep dives into some of the largest corporates.”

No wording is attached to the offering since it's intended to be tailored to a specific client's needs, Mr. Bantick said.

“Some may use captives. Some may use broker wordings. Some may use their own wordings, some may use our wordings,” he said.