Cyber liability claims severity rose, and business email compromises was the leading source of loss in the first half of 2024, according to a report released Thursday by cyber insurer Coalition Inc.
Overall claims severity increased by 14% compared with the same period last year to an average loss of $122,000, primarily driven by a spike in ransomware severity as hackers and criminals targeted larger businesses.
Ransomware claims severity spiked by 68% to an average loss of $353,000 through the first half of 2024, according to the report.
“The use and impact of ransomware remains as volatile as ever,” Rob Jones, Coalition’s head of claims, said in a statement issued with the report. “We saw a marked spike in the severity and demand amounts.”
The frequency of business email compromises, or BEC, events increased by 4%, accounting for nearly one-third of all cyber insurance claims. BEC frequency trended higher throughout 2023, the report said.
BEC was the most frequent event by type, comprising 32% of incidents, followed by funds transfer fraud at 27% and ransomware at 18%, report data showed. “Other” loss types accounted for 23%.
Severity varied widely among…
