Capital pours in as insurers eye potential for growth

More capital is coming into the cyber insurance market, experts say.

“It's one of the real growth areas, so there's a lot of pressure on the carriers' side to be in the market in some way, shape or form,” said William P. Cosgrove, New York-based managing principal and practice leader of financial institutions at Edgewood Partners Insurance Center. Recent examples include:

In October 2015, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said its Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Co. unit had launched two policies providing cyber liability and breach response coverage with risk management resources in the U.S.

In December 2015, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty S.E. launched a dedicated U.S. cyber unit in response to rising intellectual property theft and cyber extortion.

In January 2016, Marsh L.L.C. launched a global excess cyber risk facility underwritten by Lloyd's of London syndicates that offers up to $50 million in follow-form coverage for any industry sector worldwide.

In May 2016, London-based Beazley P.L.C. and a unit of Munich Reinsurance Co. said they had entered into a coinsurance partnership to provide buyers with customized cyber limits up to $100 million.

In addition, “There is a nascent market for insurance-linked securities,” which would permit insurers, reinsurers or even buyers to transfer cyber risk rather than the typical insurance mechanisms, said Ben Beeson, Washington-based cyber risk practice leader at Lockton Cos. L.L.C., who said he could foresee development of exchanges that would deal with insurance-linked securities.

Kevin Kalinich, Chicago-based global practice leader of cyber/network risk at Aon Risk Solutions, said the cyber insurance market is of particular interest to retirement and pension funds, which prefer the longer-term investments.