More Australian and New Zealand businesses than ever are taking out cyber insurance, with about 43% holding a policy and 57% considering one, according to a survey by IT security specialist Arctic Wolf.

“In the face of an ongoing rise in the frequency of high-profile cyberattacks and the development of increasingly capable and well-equipped threat actors, more organisations are seeing cyber liability insurance as a critical part of their security posture,” the survey report says.

“This has led to a surge in new customers seeking to purchase policies or update old ones, leading to an increase in policies that are two years or younger.

“At the same time, the market itself is starting to mature as the growing price of new policies has started to subside.”

However, companies often “struggle to understand what is required of them”, the survey report says. About 38% of businesses have trouble figuring out their cyber insurance needs.

“When it comes time to decide what level of insurance to purchase, many organisations are still navigating how the ecosystem of cyber insurance works.”

The survey also finds that making the case for cyber cover to company leaders is difficult: 41% of respondents say their push to obtain insurance must compete with other business priorities. 

One Australian respondent said: “The fear that the policy doesn’t cover all the risks always creates indecision.”

The report says 61% of respondents have seen policy costs rise over the past year, but for 44% of those the increase was 10% or less.

At the same time, the scope of coverage is rising. Half of respondents say their policies have become more comprehensive, while 48% say coverage has stayed about the same.