New London Market committee to tackle 'silent cyber' risks

A new London Market committee has been set up by the International Underwriting Association (IUA) to address non-affirmative cyber insurance coverage (also referred to as 'silent' cyber).

According to the association, the group has been set up in response to a growing regulatory scrutiny of insurance policies that do not explicitly include or exclude cyber risks. "The management of cyber risks is a leading priority for the London company market and is being addressed by a number of existing IUA underwriting committees for more traditional lines of business," said IUA.

The committee, which is made up of senior underwriting practitioners from across more than 20 of the association’s member companies, seeks to develop a more detailed understanding of the challenge, supporting the work of other underwriting groups. It plans to collate and share publicly available information, consider the impact of model clauses when applied to different lines of business and analyse interactions between standalone cyber and other insurance policies.

The move follows the launch of IUA's new London Market underwriting group that aims to tackle cyber crime and fraud.

Tom Hughes, market services executive at the IUA, who is secretary to the new committee, said: “A major cyber event could have widespread impact on a number of different classes of business. Companies have been working hard to assess and control their exposures to non-affirmative cyber risks and these efforts are very much ongoing. Market conditions, changing client expectations and lack of historical data are all issues that must be prudently managed.

“The IUA’s new Non-Affirmative Cyber Risk Committee will assist members by identifying areas of complexity and promoting best practice across the London company market.”