Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has entered the growing cyber-liability market in Australia, as corporate demand for the cover increases and risks evolve.

The company has named Emma Osgood as Head of Cyber Liability for the region, and says it is focusing on the mid to large-tier market segment.

BHSI has also teamed up with Symantec to provide incident response services to policyholders, such as access to legal experts, forensic IT services to identify and contain breaches, and public relations assistance.

Ms Osgood says there has been a significant rise in demand for cyber cover in Australia over the past four years, with the premium pool for insurers estimated to be about $25 million a year.

“Awareness is definitely increasing, but like any new area of risk it will take time for awareness to increase universally,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Without doubt, I think cyber risk is still underestimated by many, and this is in part due to the fact threats are evolving at such a pace even the most advanced IT defences will struggle to keep up.”

Ms Osgood has 17 years’ insurance experience and was previously national cyber liability and professional indemnity manager at AIG Australia. She has also worked at various UK broking houses, including Alexander Forbes and Heath Lambert.

Over the past 12-18 months new cyber attacks have emerged with an increasing ability to circumvent security protocols and remain undetected for prolonged periods, including sophisticated social engineering attacks targeting individuals, Ms Osgood says.

Enquiries about cover are often received from organisations holding large amounts of personal information, such as banks, health funds and financial advisers.

“No particular industry stands out as leading demand,” Ms Osgood says.

“It really comes down to the appreciation of cyber risk within each organisation, together with their appetite to outsource that risk to insurers.”