Cyber insurance seems like a product that should sell itself, between the increased vulnerability of organizations and companies of all sizes to a cyber breach as well as the uptick in potential expenses and losses arising from today's cybercrimes. Consider these 2021 cybersecurity statistics, compiled by cybertalk.org:
  1. Data breach costs increased from $3.86 million to $4.24 million in 2021, the highest in the past 17 years.
  2. The average cost of a data breach increased by $1.07 million due to remote work. Because of COVID-19, remote work has increased the average cost of a data breach.
It follows that the cyber insurance market earned roughly $3.2 billion in written premiums in 2021, according to premium reporting collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and analyzed by S&P Global Market Intelligence. However, every insured's cyber threat profile is different. So the U.S. Federal Trade Commission wants cyber insurance prospects to make sure any potential policy covers the following:
  • Data breaches (like incidents involving theft of personal information);
  • Cyberattacks on your data held by vendors and other third parties;
  • Cyberattacks (like breaches of your network);
  • Cyberattacks that occur anywhere in the world (not only in the United States);
  • Terrorist acts;
  • Defense against lawsuits or regulatory investigations (look for "duty to defend" wording);
  • Coverage in excess of any other applicable insurance you have; and
  • Offers a breach hotline that's available every day of the year at all times.
The slideshow above illustrates 2021's top cyber insurance carriers based on net premiums written. See also:

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Elana Ashanti Jefferson

Elana Ashanti Jefferson serves as ALM's PropertyCasualty360 Group Chief Editor. She is a veteran journalist and communications professional. Reach her by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

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