Munich Re: SME market keen to avoid cyber issues
Providers of cyber re/insurance must continually adjust to what is an ever-evolving risk and an ever-adapting market, Annamaria Landaverde, senior vice president and cyber practice lead at the reinsurance division of Munich Reinsurance America, told APCIA Today.
Securing robust protection is becoming ever more important to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Munich Re has invested heavily in this space to ensure it has products that are suited to the needs of these companies.
Landaverde pointed out that when cyber products were first developed the main threat was around data being stolen. Now, one of the biggest threats is ransomware, whereby companies lose control of their records, simultaneously causing business interruption issues.
“What companies are dealing with today is not only how to handle an extortionist and engage with law enforcement but also how to restore their networks if they are encrypted and suffer an outage,” Landaverde explained.
Munich Re has a wide range of cyber product offerings ultimately developed for SMEs. For businesses that buy cyber as a part of a blended product with other lines of business, Munich Re has a white label offering, whereby it provides forms, rates, underwriting capabilities, claims handing and a full suite of solutions to its insurers. These can then be offered to SMEs.
For standalone cyber insurance policies, Munich Re has two offerings, both handled by Munich Reinsurance America.
It offers full treaty reinsurance capacity and consultation, which is suitable for clients with a mature cyber portfolio comprising all sizes of risks including small to middle-market businesses. The ideal client would offer a standalone policy with full limits and have mature cyber underwriting and claims capabilities.
The third category is another reinsurance solution whereby it supports clients looking to get a cyber product off the ground. Munich Re provides underwriting training, claims training, risk management tools and access to best-in-class vendors to provide forensics and breach response capabilities.
