FOUR OUT OF FIVE RISK PROFESSIONALS PURCHASESTAND-ALONE CYBER INSURANCE
Growing Number of Practitioners Using Other Policies to Protect Cyber Data
NEW YORK (August 24, 2017) — According to the 2017 RIMS Cyber Survey, risk professionals’ continued to show confidence in stand-alone cyber insurance policies as the number of practitioners who purchased the coverage increased moderately in 2017.
Key findings from the 2017 RIMS Cyber Survey include:
- Organizations with a stand-alone cyber insurance policy increased three percent (to 83 percent) from 2016.
- Of the organizations without a stand-alone cyber policy, 84 percent indicated that other insurance policies include cyber liability coverage.
- Seventy-two percent of respondents transfer cyber exposures to a third-party (up four percent from 2016).
- Business interruption – 80 percent – and cyber extortion – 72 percent – top the list of first-party cyber exposures.
- Only 34 percent of respondents thought that the government should mandate cyber security standards.
“At any given moment, cyber-predators can unleash a new hack to infiltrate an organization’s system, steal or lock critical data and cause significant business interruption damages,” said RIMS President Nowell Seaman. “RIMS Cyber Survey shows that risk professionals continue to invest in cyber insurance products and must work in tandem with their insurers and IT professionals to help develop innovative and adaptable solutions for the next generation of cyber threats.”
Compared to the modest changes seen in the 2017 RIMS Cyber Survey, the 2016 survey showed more drastic changes in the management of cyber exposure than its preceding 2015 survey. Notably, there was a sharp 29 percent increase in the procurement of stand-alone cyber insurance than recorded in 2015 (51 percent in 2015, 80 percent in 2016). Also, there was a 10 percent increase in the number of organizations that transferred cyber exposure to a third-party from 2015 to 2016 (58 percent to 68 percent).
This year’s RIMS Cyber Survey had 288 respondents with demographics regarding industry sector, organization revenue and number of employees holding close to 2016 results. The survey was distributed to RIMS membership via an internet link and was accepted between May 18 and June 25, 2017.
For the first 60-days, the 2017 RIMS Cyber Survey is available to RIMS members only in the RIMS Risk Knowledge library. Following the introductory period it will be available to all risk professionals at www.RIMS.org/riskknowledge.