ISE 2012: Interest in cyber insurance 'overwhelming' in Europe

Speaking at Insurance Insight's inaugural Insurance Strategy Europe event, Jacob Ingerslev, European underwriting director for technology and cyber risks at CNA, said that interest from Europe in cyber crime insurance is growing rapidly.

Ingerslev explained that the annual cost of cyber crime is currently £244bn, and that changes to breach of notification law could affect this further.

Currently only Germany and Austria in Europe have regulations in place for this, but Ingerslev said that the US and the rest of Europe are likely to see changes to legislation that force firms to notify about data breaches within 24 hours, be that customer or employee data.

Ingerslev added that the interest in Europe and the London market is overwhelming but that the challenge facing insurers is to get the product understood.

"But so many people are talking about it now, it will soon be understood. Cyber crime is now on the top three list for most governments and the media is picking it up too. It is showing signs of being a growing market," he said.

Answering a question from chairman Jonathan Swift, editor in chief of Insurance Insight, Ingerslev said the difference between a young directors and officers market and the current young cyber market is that there is more frequency of claims in cyber insurance.

"This is a first time buy for most European firms, but in the US this market is now worth $750m and this has happened in the last five years," he said.