Nearly half of cyber professionals do not have the budget for adequate protection – Coalition

Nearly half (43.4%) of cyber professionals report that they do not have the budget for adequate protection against cyber threats, according to the latest findings from cyber specialist MGA Coalition.

The research also found that 30.6% of respondents felt that providing the information requested by insurers was challenging when purchasing cyber insurance. 

A further 25% of those surveyed said that insurers lacked cyber security expertise.

Coalition’s study was conducted in February 2024 by independent research organisation Opinion Matters and surveyed 500 senior level IT security decision makers and cyber security professionals working at mid-market firms with an annual turnover of between £100m to £1bn across England, Scotland and Wales.

Tom Draper, Coalition’s UK head of insurance, said: “The results show that many IT departments currently see cyber insurance as more of a ‘nice to have’ and not as a key pillar in their cyber risk management strategy.

“The findings also suggest that businesses are underwhelmed with their options and experiences. The message coming across loud and clear is that the UK cyber insurance industry has to be better at engaging with clients.”

Increasing trust

Coalition’s research also demonstrated that 87.6% of cyber professionals said that they had experienced a cyber attack in their current or former roles.

Positively, however, 19% reported that their company had a positive experience with cyber insurance.

Draper added: “By bringing IT security into the insurance conversation, insurers and brokers can increase trust in cyber insurance and better demonstrate its value.

“Our mid-market clients find Coalition’s expertise in incident response, our onboarding calls explaining how we will support them through an incident and our round-the-clock security support invaluable. This has to be the way forward.”

Coalition launched in the UK in September 2022 and provides what it calls active cyber insurance – combining both cyber risk prevention and insurance to organisations with a turnover of up to £1bn via broker partners.

The firm’s active insurance offering brings together risk assessment, proactive protection, expert response and comprehensive cyber coverage to help organisations identify, mitigate and respond to digital risks.