Catastrophe Losses in 2015 Estimated at $30.5B, Guy Carpenter Reports

Despite being a relatively “quiet” year with the lowest global insured catastrophe losses since 2009 at approximately $30.5 billion, 2015 featured some of the highest-profile disasters in recent memory, including the Paris terrorist attacks, the Nepal earthquake, explosions at the Chinese port of Tianjin, aviation accidents, and the strongest El Niño period in recorded history, according to Guy Carpenter’s GC Analytics annual catastrophe review.

The Tianjin explosions last August caused estimated insured losses ranging from $1.6 billion up to $3.3 billion, in an event that caused a significant loss of life and the effects of which are still being measured.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/28/catastrophe-losses-in-2015-estimated-at-30-5b-guy-carpenter-reports/

Erin Ayers, Catastrophe losses in 2015 estimated at $30.5B, Guy Carpenter reports (March 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Beazley Sees 60 Percent Rise in Breaches Caused by Hacking and Malware

Data breach incidents caused by hacking and malware increased dramatically between 2014 and 2015, according to claim trends collected Beazley, provider of data breach response insurance. The firm also saw a 60 percent increase in data breaches last year, up from 777 in 2014 to 1,249 in 2015, and predicts an exponential rise in ransomware attacks.

In 2015, 32 percent of all claims handled by Beazley’s Breach Response team were caused by hacking or malware compared to 18 percent in 2014. Other causes of loss include unintended disclosure of records at 24 percent (down from 32 percent in 2014) and loss of physical records at an unchanged 16 percent. The fields of healthcare, higher education, and financial services were found to be particularly vulnerable.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/15/beazley-sees-60-percent-rise-in-breaches-caused-by-hacking-and-malware/

Erin Ayers, Beazley sees 60 percent rise in breaches caused by hacking and malware (March 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Clarity of Liability Following Active-Shooter Events an Unfortunate Reality

In the not too distant past, many would have considered an active shooter an exposure that could not be underwritten. But as more experience and general knowledge of these acts are accrued, this sentiment is changing, according to a panel of experts during a recent Advisen webinar on the topic.

The growing feeling is businesses have a moral and legal obligation regarding liability in active-shooter events.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/15/clarity-of-liability-following-active-shooter-events-an-unfortunate-reality/

Josh Bradford, Clarity of liability following active-shooter events an unfortunate reality (March 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Cyber Ransom: It’s Covered, For Now

SAN FRANCISCO—Ransomware may be the hot-button issue within the cyber landscape and, for the time being, ransom paid to hackers is covered by insurers.

From Advisen’s Cyber Risk Insights Conference here earlier this month, Samantha Riley, partner at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides, said she has handled a “huge uptick” in claims on behalf of insurance carriers, who are paying out the claims under cyber extortion coverage.

Confirming Riley’s observation, Mickey Estey, senior vice president of E&O, cyber and media at RT ProExec of RT Specialty, said insurers have paid in the past with “not a lot of dispute.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/15/cyber-ransom-its-covered-for-now/

Chad Hemenway, Cyber ransom: It’s covered, for now (March 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Organizations Worry About Keeping Sensitive Data in the Cloud—But Still Do It

Organizations claim to know where their sensitive data is located, but security firm Vormetric isn’t so sure, based on the results of its 2016 Data Threat Report, which found that while 43 percent of respondents say they have “complete knowledge” of their data, respondents also say that “lack of knowledge” of data amid the rise of cloud and mobile computing is a barrier to effective security.

“At the very least, the results are highly counterintuitive and could suggest that our prior conceptions about the need for data discovery and classification were actually misconceptions. At worst, the results suggest many firms are in denial about how much sensitive data they have and where it’s located, which could be a harbinger of continued damaging data breaches,” Vormetric said in the report completed with the assistance of research firm 451 Research.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/08/organizations-worry-about-keeping-sensitive-data-in-the-cloud-but-still-do-it/

Erin Ayers, Organizations worry about keeping sensitive data in the cloud—but still do it, Advisen News (March 8, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News. Subscribe now!

When it Comes to Cyber Risk, Two Old Friends Need to Unite Again

There was a repeated theme at Advisen’s Cyber Risk Insights Conference: the symbiotic relationship of insurance and technology is needed once more.

Maybe it was the fact our conference was held at the same time as the RSA Conference down the street; maybe it was part of a natural understanding of the complex properties inherent to cyber risk; maybe it was the serendipity of these things converging all at once.

The tech community and the insurance community are no strangers to each other by any means but, judging from panels and conversations at the conference, there is a sort of disconnect in that these two friends are speaking different cyber-risk languages… maybe just different dialects.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/03/08/when-it-comes-to-cyber-risk-two-old-friends-need-to-unite-again/

Chad Hemenway, When it comes to cyber risk, two old friends need to unite again, Advisen News (March 8, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News. Subscribe now!

Fourth Party Networks Can Spell Cyber Trouble for Organizations: BitSight

One organization might implement solid cyber risk management strategies and ensure that their business partners do the same – but what about other firms that provide services organizations rely upon? A new report from BitSight takes a look at those “fourth party” connections that can be overlooked but that can cause trouble across a range of organizations.

“Many organizations are now focused on strengthening their own network security with firewalls, intrusion detection systems, identity management software, event log management tools, and more,” commented BitSight in the report, called “Risk Degrees of Separation: The Impact of Fourth Party Networks on Organizations.” “However, smart hackers and thieves have realized that the weakest point of entry into most organizations is through their vendors (third parties) and subcontractors (fourth parties). If a company shares data with its vendors or subcontractors then it may be at risk from data breaches at these organizations.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/02/29/fourth-party-networks-can-spell-cyber-trouble-for-organizations-bitsight/

Erin Ayers, Fourth party networks can spell cyber trouble for organizations: BitSight, Advisen News (February 29, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News. Subscribe now!

Should you Cough up Money to Hackers?

Last week Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center said it paid hackers $17,000 in virtual currency bitcoin to get out from under a malware attack that locked access to certain computer systems and prevented the hospital from sharing communications electronically.

But is this practice advised, and is it covered by insurance?

To start, a survey early this year from nonprofit Cloud Security Alliance found that 24.6 percent of companies would be willing to pay a ransom to hackers to prevent a cyberattack and 14 percent would pay more than $1 million.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/02/29/should-you-cough-up-money-to-hackers/

Chad Hemenway, Should you cough up money to hackers?, Advisen News (February 29, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.