1.0 CYBER MARKET UPDATE -

1.1 US Market Update -

To call 2021 anything other than a sea change in the cyber insurance world would be an understatement. Indeed, nearly all cyber insurance renewals saw increases in premium and self-insured retentions throughout 2021. Many saw reductions in limits. Everyone experienced the increased scrutiny of cybersecurity controls to combat ransomware. According to this year’s Underwriters' Survey, 2022 doesn’t hold much relief. Let’s dive deeper into the trends we’ve seen throughout 2021 and what they signal for 2022.

The Hard Market Arrived with a Vengeance -

While 2020 showed signs of a hardening market, the acceleration of difficult conditions throughout 2021 is unprecedented in the history of cyber insurance. Reinsurance treaty renewals in January of 2021 forebode the changing conditions in the primary cyber insurance market, and ransomware is the main concern. Indeed, as you’ll read in the Hot Topics section 2.1, a dramatic rise in ransomware claim frequency and severity led to sharp reactions from the cyber insurance market.