Aon Launches ‘Ransomware Defence’ to Address Cyber Insurability Challenges

Insurer Aon plc announced the launch of a new offering aimed at increasing the resilience of businesses in the UK and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, by addressing cyber insurability challenges.

“Ransomware Defence” brings Aon’s cyber security expertise and capabilities together into one solution to help mid-market organizations improve and demonstrate their cyber preparedness. This offering can help clients mitigate their risk of a ransomware attack while also facilitating their cyber insurance placement.

The offering includes an attack surface assessment, external threat scanning, cyber attack simulations and an incident response readiness assessment.

“Ransomware incidents are becoming more frequent, sophisticated and targeted, while ransom demands themselves are growing. These dynamics are leaving many businesses more exposed to cyber threats and unable to secure the essential insurance coverage they need in response to an event,” commented Richard Hanlon, chief commercial officer, EMEA, for Aon’s Cyber Solutions.

With Ransomware Defence, Aon can help organizations “increase their level of security and provide more accurate assessments of their defenses, lowering the likelihood of successful attacks and positioning them strongly to access the insurance they need,” said Tracie Thompson, head of Commercial Risk, EMEA, at Aon.

Aon explained that insurers are experiencing mounting losses, largely driven by the proliferation of ransomware, with the frequency of events up nearly 500% since 2018.

Increased frequency and severity of losses have driven significant rate increases and led to more challenging insurance placements and renewals in the cyber insurance market.

“[I]nsurers have begun evaluating whether their insured have instituted adequate security controls,” said Aon, noting that an unfavorable evaluation may have an adverse impact on a client’s rate, premium, limit and terms and conditions.

While larger organizations may have more sophisticated security controls in place, many mid-market organizations across the UK and EMEA are failing to demonstrate adequate preparedness, added Aon. “This makes them both more vulnerable to cyber threats and can lead to very difficult, if not impossible, cyber insurance placements.”

To provide further guidance on increasing security and improving cyber insurability, Aon has also launched a new guide, Ransomware Defence Recommended Practices. This guide includes a checklist to help determine the ransomware defense maturity level and preparedness of an organization, helping them to navigate new forms of volatility and shape better decisions that address this long-tail risk, said Aon.

Source: Aon

Topics Cyber New Markets Aon