Emergence Insurance has released an excess of loss (XOL) cyber policy.
Jeff Gonlin, Emergence’s Head of Underwriting & Product Development, said the launch followed market demand, driven by contractual obligations and clients seeking higher policy limits because of greater awareness of potential exposures.
Emergence can provide up to $10 million capacity on a primary basis through its online portal, but many companies seek higher limits.
There’s a growing appreciation of third-party risk, leading astute companies to scrutinise business partners from a cyber risk perspective, including requirements to carry cyber insurance.
It’s common practice to require public liability, professional indemnity and other insurances with limits of $10 million, $20 million or more. As cyber insurance becomes mainstream, business partners are expected to carry meaningful cyber limits, too.
Emergence does not have to write the underlying policy. Many insurers are not keen to provide capacity beyond $10 million, but Emergence follows the underlying policy, after reviewing how it is underwritten and structured, and who is responsible for claims management.
Emergence will help clients build a tower to ensure they reach the desired capacity.
Cyber claims’ severity is increasing and the global market has seen some large claims.
Many companies still have no cyber insurance whatsoever. Whether businesses operate overseas or run purely domestic operations, all companies should protect their assets with appropriate limits of insurance. For cyber, that could necessitate XOL cover.
Emergence has written XOL policies for some time on a bespoke basis and has used those learnings to develop its latest offering.
With increasing interest in the product, Emergence’s decision to make it part of the standard offering was easy.
Policies are negotiated individually and tailored to clients’ circumstances.
Emergence is a pioneer of cyber cover in Australia and provides protection for SMEs through to ASX-listed entities.
A cyber insurance policy is part of every successful business’s risk management framework, but it’s not the first line of defence.
The cover is designed to protect businesses when their IT security, policies and procedures fail to stop an attack.
Emergence’s strength is broker education, including a regular webinar series that attracts more than 1,000 brokers; social media and web posts; and face-to-face meetings with brokers and their clients to explain cyber risks.
Emergence was judged the 2019 Insurance Business magazine Underwriting Agency of the Year and was a finalist in the same category at the 2019 ANZIIF-Asia Insurance Review awards.
Access the broker portal to obtain Emergence cyber quotations for your clients.