Cybercrime rose exponentially in 2020 amid the COVID-19 health crisis, with ransomware attacks increasing 40% year-over-year for the first three quarters of the year, according to a Guidewire report. It follows that 65% of small- and medium-sized businesses are now planning to spend more on cyber insurance over the next two years as they ramp up their cyber resilience plans to defend against opportunistic hackers. As the ever-evolving cyber insurance market continues its rapid growth, insurance brokers face tremendous opportunities — and challenges. A report published in 2020 by CyberCube, a data-driven cyber analytics company for the insurance industry, found several factors across the cyber market that can hinder growth for insurance companies and brokers. But at the same time, this changing market also offers endless possibilities for brokers to thrive. "Brokerages have the unique opportunity to marry their fundamental understanding of insurable cyber risk and exposure with their core strengths of relationships across the insurance landscape and their in-depth understanding of the policy coverage landscape," writes Oren Schetrit, John Anderson and Yvette Essen, co-authors of "The Role of Intermediaries in Placing Cyber Risk" report. "Combining these strategic strengths will position brokerages to be indispensable value-added business partners for years to come." Read up on the challenges and opportunities facing insurance brokers in the cyber market today, as identified by CyberCube, by clicking through the above slideshow. Related: |

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