Cyber Risk Awareness Not Turning Into Action, Survey Finds

Many businesses, especially in Europe, fully understand the cyber risk they face, but have yet to implement solid plans to address it, including declining to buy cyber insurance, according to a new Risk:Value survey from NTT Com Security.

“Study any risk-based discipline for long enough, and you will see a worrying trend: A large proportion of people understand the risk is there, but often do not address the problem until it is too late. People smoke, fail to exercise and eat bad food, while admitting that they understand the mortality statistics. On a broader scale, we know the climate change risks, but continue to burn carbon at furious rates. It’s as though we are somehow programmed to procrastinate,” stated the authors of the report. “The same is true in cybersecurity. Organizations may understand the likelihood of an intruder stealing their data. They may even understand how badly it will impact them. But they often tend to react impulsively after the fact, rather than responding thoughtfully to a threat well in advance.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/28/cyber-risk-awareness-not-turning-into-action-survey-finds/

Erin Ayers, Cyber risk awareness not turning into action, survey finds (April 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Executive Profile: Jack Kuhn, CEO, Global Insurance, Endurance Specialty Holdings

Endurance recently reported strong 2015 financial performance and all indications are that positive results will continue into Q1 2016 and beyond. Launched in 2001 as predominately a reinsurer, Endurance has transformed itself into a major global excess and primary insurance player. And, with the recent successful acquisition and integration of Montpelier Re, Endurance’s Jack Kuhn, CEO of Global Insurance, said the company is well positioned to recognize and make the most of opportunities in the marketplace.

Advisen recently got a chance to sit down with Kuhn to talk about an assortment of topics, including Endurance’s strategy for future growth.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/26/exoecutive-profile-jack-kuhn-ceo-endurance/

Chad Hemenway. “Executive Profile: Jack Kuhn, CEO, Global Insurance, Endurance Specialty Holdings.” Advisen Ltd. 1 May 2016. Web. 6 May 2016.

Interest, Good Claims Record Prompts Rapid Growth in Transactional Risk Insurance Market

The transaction risk insurance market has grown leaps and bounds in a remarkably short amount of time; in fact, 2015 saw a record number of representations & warranties policies written globally.

The rapid growth and interest in the market translated into a sold-out crowd at Advisen’s Transactional Insurance Insights Conference this week in New York.

“Five years ago, we may have been able to get 20 to 25 people together and talk about the subject,” said Peter Rosen, partner at Latham & Watkins and conference chair. “Ten years ago, no one would have even tried to host an event similar to today.”

He added, “We’re probably looking at approximately 750 policies written in the US in 2015 and 2,000 written globally. And the prediction is that the market is going to continue to grow as it is covering approximately only 15 percent of all private deals.”

Panelists agreed that the market’s positive track record on paying claims has assisted its meteoric growth.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/05/02/good-claims-record-prompts-rapid-growth-in-transactional-risk-insurance-market/

Josh Bradford. “Interest, good claims record prompts rapid growth in transactional risk insurance market.” Advisen Ltd. 2 May 2016. Web. 4 May 2016.

‘Beleaguered’ Energy Market Could Prompt Insurer Exits

The energy sector faces its “greatest challenge for 50 years” as the collapse in oil prices requires energy companies to cut costs and self-insure more, creating a lack of demand that could propel insurers out of the market, according to a recent report from Willis Towers Watson.

“The phrase ‘the perfect storm’ is possibly the most over-used cliché in describing business landscapes, but in truth no other term really comes close to identifying conditions in the energy insurance markets as we move further into 2016,” Neil Smith, Willis Towers Watson’s global product leader for natural resources, wrote in the report. In fact, the report likened insurers’ struggle in the energy sector to Antarctic explorers of the past, fighting not just to attain the South Pole first, but merely to survive.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/15/beleaguered-energy-market-could-prompt-insurer-exits/

Erin Ayers, ‘Beleaguered’ energy market could prompt insurer exits (April 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Cyber Risk Can Affect M&A Valuation, Requires Focus in Due Diligence

Mergers and acquisitions in the US topped 12,000 last year and 2016 is already heating up, with a shareholder vote on Marriott International’s bid for Starwood Hotels expected this week, in a move that would create the world’s largest hotel chain. Experts say that in any M&A transaction, cyber risk must become a key focus in the due diligence process, but particularly in the hospitality industry.

Cyber criminals targeted at least five hotel chains in 2015 – Hilton, White Lodging Services, Starwood, Mandarin Oriental, and the Trump Collection. Recent reports also indicate that the Trump hotel chain has again been hacked. Hotel chains appeal to hackers as a steady business usually transacted with credit and debit cards and a high-volume blend of business and leisure travelers. Hotels mergers and acquisitions have increased as chains seek to consolidate and compete, but the security industry warns that acquiring companies need to be aware of the risks that come with the purchase.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/15/cyber-risk-can-affect-ma-valuation-requires-focus-in-due-diligence/

Erin Ayers, Cyber risk can affect M&A valuation, requires focus in due diligence (April 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Aon Terrorism & Political Violence Risk Map: ‘Increasing Regional Instability’

Aon’s 2016 Terrorism & Political Violence Risk Map reports the first net increase in global terrorism risk since 2013.

“Our 2016 map demonstrates increasing regional instability and a growing spectrum of potential risks,” said Scott Bolton, director in crisis management at Aon Risk Solutions.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/15/aon-terrorism-political-violence-risk-map-increasing-regional-instability/

Josh Bradford, Aon Terrorism & Political Violence Risk Map: ‘Increasing regional instability’ (April 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Cyber Criminals are Going Corporate, Symantec Reveals

Taking a page out of the best-practices business books of their targets, advanced attackers show signs of corporate organization in order to more effectively hack into networks, according to Symantec’s latest Internet Security Report, which found that a new zero-day attack is discovered on average once a week, double the rate of a year ago.

“Advanced criminal attack groups now echo the skill sets of nation-state attackers. They have extensive resources and a highly skilled technical staff that operate with such efficiency that they maintain normal business hours and even take weekends and holidays off,” said Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/15/cyber-criminals-are-going-corporate-symantec-reveals/

Erin Ayers, Cyber criminals are going corporate, Symantec reveals (April 15, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Catastrophes Cost Insurers $37 Billion in 2015: Swiss Re

Insured losses covered only 40 percent of the world’s total economic losses from all disasters, including natural and man-made events, according to Swiss Re’s sigma study released Wednesday.

Global insured losses totaled $37 billion in 2015, well below the previous 10-year average of $62 billion.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/04/catastrophes-cost-insurers-37-billion-in-2015-swiss-re/

Josh Bradford, Catastrophes cost insurers $37 billion in 2015: Swiss Re (April 4, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Cyber Insurance Take-Up Rate for New Policies Increases 27% in 2015: Marsh

Greater awareness throughout organizations of cyber risks drove significant increases in the take-up rate of cyber insurance purchased by Marsh clients between 2014 and 2015, according to the latest report from the broker.

Overall, Marsh reported a 27 percent increase in the number of insureds buying standalone cyber insurance for the first time in 2015. The manufacturing industry showed the biggest increase with a 63 percent rise over 2014. Insureds in the communications, media, and technology sector showed the second-largest increase in new purchases at 41 percent.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/04/cyber-insurance-take-up-rate-for-new-policies-increases-27-in-2015-marsh/

Erin Ayers, Cyber insurance take-up rate for new policies increases 27% in 2015: Marsh (April 4, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Data-Incident Trends Revealed by BakerHostetler Report

Humans still account for nearly a quarter of all data security incidents, but an analysis of more than 300 incidents by one law firm revealed the leading causes of cases in 2015 was phishing, hacking or malware.

The new report from BakerHostetler appears to confirm several other observations from within the cyber landscape that phishing and malware are becoming increasingly prevalent. While human error ranked as the leading cause of incidents in 2014, in 2015 employee action/mistake dropped to second at 24 percent.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/04/04/data-incident-trends-revealed-by-bakerhostetler-report/

Chad Hemenway, Data-incident trends revealed by BakerHostetler report (April 4, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.