Cyber exposures top U.K. risk managers' worry lists

HARROGATE, England — Cyber risks are the top two concerns of U.K. risk managers.

According to U.K. risk management group Airmic Ltd.’s annual preconference member survey, risk managers cited cyber risks that cause business interruption as their biggest concern followed by cyber risks resulting in the loss or theft of personal data.

In the survey of 150 risk managers, released Tuesday during Airmic’s annual conference in Harrogate, England, 46% cited cyber business interruption their top concern while 44% cited cyber-related losses or thefts of personal data.

“There is clearly a lot of concern” among Airmic members about cyber risks, said Airmic CEO John Hurrell.

However, only 43% said they buy insurance for the risks.

The main reasons cited for not buying cyber insurance were “inadequate coverage” and “relevant insurance being unavailable and high cost,” according to Airmic’s survey.

Reputational risk was a distant third in being cited by 31% of survey participants as a top concern. Only 4% buy such coverage, according to the survey.

Fewer than 20% of respondents said they have “a high level of confidence” in their organization’s ability to manage cyber risks, according to Airmic.