Cyber specialist Emergence has formed an in-house Incident Response and Cyber Claims team to work for policyholders if they are victims of an event, as risks faced by businesses and households continue to increase.

The team, led by Blake Baxter, who joined Emergence in March from Chubb, will manage and co-ordinate responses and handle the process from the first notification of loss through to the finalisation of a claim.

Emergence CEO and Founder Troy Filipcevic says its dedicated in-house cyber response and claims function is an “Australian first” and will provide 24-hour support and immediate access to a security expert who will triage the claim and provide direction and advice.

“They will then appoint the necessary cyber experts to further assist,” he said. “Most importantly, the team supports clients who have experienced a cyber incident by helping them get back into business as quickly as possible.”

Mr Baxter has specialised in cyber insurance for more than nine years and has experience in building and managing incident response and claims handling functions in Australia and the UK.

“Having in-house resources allows us to work closely with our brokers and their clients and, when needed, be there to provide the assistance they require,” he said.

Emergence launched more than five years ago, focusing on the SME market and has this year also introduced a personal cyber product aimed at families and individuals.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre last financial year responded to 2266 cyber security incidents and received 59,806 cybercrime reports at an average of 164 cybercrime reports a day, or one report every 10 minutes.

“While our cyber adversaries are becoming more adept, the likelihood and severity of cyber attacks is also increasing due to our growing dependence on new information technology platforms and interconnected devices and systems,” it says in an annual cyber threat report.

The report also says that throughout the coronavirus pandemic there has been an increase in reported spear-phishing, which targets individuals, and a rise in COVID-19 themed malicious activity.