Despite the escalating risk of cybercrime, regulatory demands and challenges of digital evolution, only 20% of Australian SMEs have a standalone cyber insurance policy*. This represents a significant opportunity to protect thousands more businesses by successfully conveying the reality of cyber risk and the value of cyber insurance in mitigating it.

To help you as a broker articulate why cyber insurance is a must for every modern business, in this NIBA-accredited 30-minute video, Philippa Davis, CFC's Cyber Team Leader, Australia, reveals:

• How you can effectively convey cyber risk
• The keys to communicating key areas of coverage with ease
• Tips on confidently handling top objections

If you’re a little short on time, read our summary below.

1. Conveying cyber risk 

While it is cyber attacks on large corporates that make the news, more than 60% of Australian SMBs have sustained a cyber attack** — and a worryingly large proportion never fully recover.

Our claims data shows:

• Data breaches and theft of funds are the most frequent cyber attacks
• Ransomware accounts for 71% of claims costs, despite representing just 18% of claims

Every industry comes with a cyber risk. Make sure to ask businesses about specific risks, what security protocols they have in place, who they would call when they suffer a cyber attack, if they trust their employees to spot a phishing link, and so on.

Learn about the different levels of risk for different industries with our cyber risk heat map. Search on our website to download the full PDF.

2. Communicating key areas of coverage

Cyber cover in traditional lines of insurance often falls short of the cover in a standalone cyber policy. For example, property insurance is designed to cover brick-and-mortar assets, with cyber typically excluded. Cyber insurance is designed to fill these gaps. Key parts of our policy include:

1. Proactive cyberattack prevention: using insights from threat intelligence feeds, the dark web, network scanning and our own real-life claims data, to help stop cyber threats before they impact.
2. Cyber claims and incident response: More than 140 experienced cybersecurity and claims team based around the globe to minimise the impact of cyber incidents.
3. Award-winning cyber cover: comprehensive, robust cover for SMEs, covering a variety of cyber incidents and exposures.

Get a full breakdown on key coverage areas with our infographic on the anatomy of a cyber policy.

Handling common client objections

Cyber insurance is often seen as an afterthought, so it’s vital to address cyber risk early on in conversations and convey its value effectively. Here is a sample of the top objections we hear.

“Cyber insurance is too expensive…”
The price of cyber insurance is influenced by cybercrime’s huge potential to disrupt operations and the proactive cybersecurity and incident response services that come with the policy.

“We don’t collect data, so aren’t at risk…”
You don’t need to collect data to bear a cyber exposure. Ransomware and funds transfer fraud don’t require a data breach, and can lead to severe financial loss.

Discover more answers to top objections in the full article on our website; search “Cyber: conversation starters”.

Next steps

With almost 50% of cyber insurance brokers new to cyber or without full knowledge of the market*, it can be tough to know what you should look for in a cyber insurance partner. Our cyber insurance solutions are designed to help prevent cyberattacks from happening. If one does occur, we drastically reduce the impact and potential financial loss. Every cyber policyholder benefits from proactive cyber attack prevention, unrivaled incident response and claims, and award-winning cyber cover.

Watch the full video above for more on why cyber insurance is so invaluable, including case studies, claims data and expert insights.

If you have any questions or feedback, email cybermarketing@cfc.com. 

*Source: Insurance Council of Australia, Issues in Focus, Cyber Risk article 
**Source: Australian Cyber Security Centre, Cyber Security and  Australian Small Businesses report, 2023