Insurers Rush To Gain Cyber Expertise Ahead Of Booming Market

Ahead of the potentially exponential growth of cyber coverage, insurers are rushing to gain expertise in that fledgling market. Some industry observers say insurers are not identifying high-risk clients because they fail to conduct proper security audits, therefore potentially underpricing the risk. The U.S cyber insurance market was worth $1 billion last year in gross written premiums and could reach as much as $2 billion this year, according to estimates from Marsh & McLennan Companies. The European market, currently a fraction of that, may be boosted by draft EU data protection rules. Peter Beshar, general counsel at the Marsh & McLennan Companies, told Insurance Journal that in the U.S. on average the cost of $1 million in protection ranges from about $20,000 to $25,000.