Aon has partnered with independent online platform Adviser Ratings to launch a cyber-insurance policy for financial advisers and their clients.

Adviser Ratings-registered advisers are eligible to buy the cyber-liability cover through Aon.

Lloyd’s estimates cyber crime will cost the Australian economy up to $16 billion in the next decade.

“Aon’s partnership with Adviser Ratings is another step we are taking to educate Australian businesses of the importance of looking at their security posture and having an incident response plan,” Aon National Practice Leader for Cyber Risk Fergus Brooks said.

“The biggest risk to an advice business is damage to its brand and reputation due to its high reliance on customer trust.

“Advisers hold large amounts of third-party data, from personal client information to how and where they invest their money, all of which are susceptible to cyber crime.”

Adviser Ratings launched in October 2014 and has more than 23,000 listed advisers.