Cyber strategies continue to be focus of Zurich Academy
October 2, 2019
Cyber security protection is a major concern for customers. Our new continuing education program for distributors explores the evolution of cyber insurance.
Businesses of all sizes continue to consider cyber threats as a major concern. No organization, no matter how large or sophisticated, is immune from these threats which, if anything, are only expected to grow. The 2019 “Cost of Cybercrime Study” from Accenture reports that cyber crimes increased an average of 11% last year globally, and the average cost for an organization rose to million. Meanwhile, the Ponemon Institute’s 2019 “Cost of a Data Breach Report” notes that the average total cost of a U.S. data breach is now approximately .2 million. That’s up from .5 million in 2006, an increase of 130%.
“Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to prevent, detect and respond to these cyber threats,” says Yosha DeLong, Technical Director for Cyber for Zurich North America. “They are also motivated by expanding efforts by legislatures and regulators to move more aggressively to protect privacy and to impose both criminal and civil sanctions against companies that fail to prioritize data protection.”
Cyber insurance is becoming a critical component of organizational risk management strategies. The Zurich Academy for Select Brokers® has developed a new training program, Developments in the Evolution of Cyber Insurance, that traces the shifting nature of cyber insurance – how and why these policies have changed to where they are today.
“Traditional insurance coverages – including property, auto, commercial general liability and management liability – were designed to address conventional loss exposures that are relatively easy to identify and generally agreed upon,” says Bart Shachnow, Sales Performance Director for Zurich North America. “Over the past 20 years, however, loss exposures have evolved significantly, led by cyber-related perils. The inability of traditional coverages to effectively address these perils has resulted in frequent changes and updates to cyber insurance coverages.”
The new training program provides an important review and analysis of how coverage provisions have been revised to respond to current and emerging threats.
Program highlights:
- Identify cyber-related threats and how they have evolved over time.
- Learn why businesses are under additional pressure to implement cyber security protections given the rapid expansion of global legislative and regulatory activities demanding cyber security and privacy protections.
- Understand how traditional coverages have evolved to address emerging cyber-related claims.
- Learn why traditional coverages create significant gaps and deficiencies in coverage for cyber-related exposures.
- Understand how stand-alone Cyber Security and Privacy insurance has evolved, as well as recent enhancements to this coverage form.
“I welcome any questions distributors may have about this new program, which I believe will be of great value in understanding the challenges and opportunities that come with cyber security issues,” Shachnow says. Email him to learn more.