Cyber insurance premiums to outpace all others, Aon says

Over the past five years, cyber premiums saw the most significant growth at 23% annually.

Across all types of commercial P&C insurance, the manufacturing segment generated the highest premiums worldwide in 2017, worth approximately $111 billion. (Photo: iStock)

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A series of commercial global property and casualty insurance market reports from Aon Inpoint, Aon plc’s data, analytics, engagement and consulting team, has found that by 2021 the most rapid growth of premiums will be seen in cyber insurance products. In addition, the financial institutions, mining and minerals, and technology and media sectors are expected to expand rapidly in comparison to other industry segments.

Aon’s studies looked at insurance purchased by corporate, public sector and not-for-profit organizations between 2013 and 2017 and forecasted trends into 2021.

Cyber predicted to be worth $4 billion by 2021

Over the past five years, cyber premiums saw the most significant growth at 23% annually and by 2021, Aon predicts that worldwide premiums will be worth $4 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 14.1%.

Related: The cyber liability insurance market rises

“As we look ahead, we are seeing a broad shift of companies putting a greater value on intangible assets, such as cyber and intellectual property,” said Michael Moran, chief executive officer of Aon Inpoint. “There are multiple reasons for the increased focus and increased premiums ranging from financial statement protection due to a business interruption to the constantly evolving global regulatory environment including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.”

Manufacturing generated highest premiums worldwide in 2017

Across all types of commercial P&C insurance, the manufacturing segment generated the highest premiums worldwide in 2017, worth approximately $111 billion. Following manufacturing came agriculture, fishing, and forestry at $72 billion, boosted by the huge value of this segment in China and the United States.

Although manufacturing will remain strong, premiums bought by financial institutions, the mining and minerals sector, and technology and media firms are expected to increase most rapidly through to 2021 with an annual growth rate of around xis percent in each case, according to Aon.

Additional highlights from Aon’s series of reports:

Moran added, “At this time, a standardized data set that describes the size and segmentation of commercial lines insurance does not exist in the market. Our research, which segments the global market in detail by product, industry, and client size, fills an important gap, and can be used by insurers to identify new underwriting opportunities worldwide.”

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Victoria Prussen Spears, Esq., (vspears@alm.com) is associate director of FC&S Legal, editor of the Insurance Coverage Law Report, and senior vice president at Meyerowitz Communications Inc.