An A.M. Best report released in June gave a comprehensive look at the state of the cyber insurance market for 2018, the most recent year data was available, stating that it has seen continued growth and underwriting performance in this line of business.
In fact, the report said direct premiums written for both standalone and packaged cyber policies grew about 12 percent in 2018 from $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion. It stated the growth was a bit of a slowdown from a growth rate of 30 percent for the previous two years, however the $2.0 billion in DPW is more than double what was written in 2015. Additionally, 528 U.S. insurers reported writing cyber insurance in 2018, up from 471 in 2017.
The A.M. Best report, “Cyber Insurers Are Profitable Today, but Wary of Tomorrow’s Risks,” noted that total claims grew 39% in 2018 compared to 2017, which it said reflects a changing market with more SMEs buying coverage. In 2018, there were more than 12 million first-party claims for costs associated with breach notifications, credit monitoring for customers and business interruption.
A.M. Best also identified the top five cyber insurers by DPW, the top cyber writers in terms of…
