Nearly half (48%) reported that they are spending more than last year to protect against cyber security exposures, but only 26% said they will spend more than $1 million to protect against cyber security exposures in 2017. Almost half (44%) of those purchasing cyber insurance have a limit ranging from $5 million to $20 million. 

According to the survey, those who want to buy cyber coverage have bought it, and specialty stand-alone cyber coverage is nearing saturation. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Potential first-party cyber exposures

Which exposures did respondents find most concerning? Here they are, ranked from highest to lowest: 

• Business interruption and extra expense as a result of network outage: 80%
• Reputational harm: 79%
• Cost related to notification, response, etc.: 75%
• Business interruption and extra expenses for loss of data: 72%
• Cyber extortion: 72% (a 9% increase from 2016)
• Regulator investigations, fines, penalties: 52%
• Theft of trade secrets or IP: 42%

Related: The changing world of cyber liability insurance

Potential third-party cyber exposures

Many companies look to third-parties to mitigate cyber attacks, but there are still concerns about exposures. Here they are, ranked from highest to lowest: 

• Disclosure of personally identifiable information (employees or customers): 88%
• Cost related to notification, response, etc: 72%
• Business interruption: 61%
• Economic harm to customers as a result of a network outage: 51%
• Regulator investigations, fines, penalties: 46% 
• Media liability: 43%

Respondents answered more than 30 questions pertaining to cyber insurance, response procedures in case of an attack, organizational structure and much more. To read the full report, visit the RIMS website.