GDPR leading to increased cyber insurance uptake

There has been more demand for cyber insurance in the UK as a result of the incoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to a survey of over 200 insurance industry representatives.

CFC Underwriting conducted the survey at the 2017 Cyber Symposium in London, which was attended by London market brokers and underwriters working in cyber. 80% of respondents felt that there had been an increased demand as a direct result of GDPR.

CFC Underwriting chief innovation officer, Graeme Newman explained: “Under the GDPR there will be a requirement that businesses have an incident response plan in place and must notify any data breach no later than 72 hours of becoming aware of the event. To do this, businesses are going to need access to a whole raft of specialists and that’s going to have a disproportionate effect on SMEs who are unlikely to have this level of capability in-house. They could find themselves scrambling for help and possibly face missing the cut-off, thus exposing themselves to breaching the new rules.”

Neman continued: “I think that there is a greater realisation as GDPR looms ever closer that cyber insurance can offer a valuable lifeline. As well as protecting them against the emerging threats of the digital age, the right provider will give insureds instant access to carefully selected specialists who can guide them every step of the way from creating an incident response plan to dealing with a cyber attack.”

GDPR comes into force 25 May 2018. A torrent of claims is expected when it does, according to a DAC Beachcroft study, as businesses grapple with new rules on storing data and reporting data breaches.