Beazley combines cyber, executive units to tackle 'most challenging risks'

Specialist insurer Beazley has created a new division, called cyber and executive risk (CyEx), to be led by Mike Donovan.

The new division will focus on some of the most challenging risks confronting businesses around the world. It combines the insurer's cyber capabilities and expertise in executive risk, including directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance and employment practices liability (EPL).

Beazley's executive risk team currently insures more than 35 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 50 percent of the companies in the Dow Jones Technology Index.

Donovan, who has been with Beazley since 2004, heading its cyber and tech focus group for many years, said: "We brought our expertise in these areas together for two main reasons. First, they are rapidly changing risks that are growing harder for companies to manage. Technological, social and regulatory changes all impinge on these risks and it is critical for our clients to partner with an insurer that can keep pace with these changes. We provide, not simply insurance coverage to respond swiftly to claims, but detailed guidance on risk prevention, mitigation and incident response.

"Second, the stakes are very high. We're protecting critical assets - our clients' data, their operations, their senior executives, and their corporate reputations. A cyber attack can put all of these assets at risk, but a class action lawsuit against a company's directors can be comparably damaging. And the acceleration and amplification of bad news through social media means that reputational damage can be inflicted faster and with greater effect."

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