Re:Big Companies Thought Insurance Covered a Cyberattack
by jrochkind1 on Monday April 15, 2019 @02:53PM
(#19667843)
Nah, what makes it hard for insurers isn't that we don't know what an "act of cyber war" is. That just comes up when they try to get _out_ of it, and the same thing comes up with non-cyber "acts of war" -- it might make it hard on customers who are trying to file claims, but it's not hard on the companies.
But it _is_ hard on insurerers to do under-writing on cyber attacks -- UNRELATED to the "war" exemption, even non-war attacks. Because it's _new_, so they don't have all the historical data and methods for estimating risk. As others are saying, this is the business insurance companies are in, estimating statistical risk and figuring out the right premiums to charge to cover it. But the cyber stuff is new, which _does_ make it hard.
As original article says:
> Cyberattacks have created a unique challenge for insurers. Traditional practices, like not covering multiple buildings in the same neighborhood to avoid the risk of, say, a big fire don’t apply. Malware moves fast and unpredictably, leaving an expensive trail of collateral damage.
But nobody said they had to cover cyber stuff. They can put stuff in their policies saying they don't cover it at all, if they don't know how to underwrite it. What they can't do is put stuff in their policies saying they cover it, take your premiums on that basis, but then try to weasel out of it.
But it _is_ hard on insurerers to do under-writing on cyber attacks -- UNRELATED to the "war" exemption, even non-war attacks. Because it's _new_, so they don't have all the historical data and methods for estimating risk. As others are saying, this is the business insurance companies are in, estimating statistical risk and figuring out the right premiums to charge to cover it. But the cyber stuff is new, which _does_ make it hard.
As original article says:
> Cyberattacks have created a unique challenge for insurers. Traditional practices, like not covering multiple buildings in the same neighborhood to avoid the risk of, say, a big fire don’t apply. Malware moves fast and unpredictably, leaving an expensive trail of collateral damage.
But nobody said they had to cover cyber stuff. They can put stuff in their policies saying they don't cover it at all, if they don't know how to underwrite it. What they can't do is put stuff in their policies saying they cover it, take your premiums on that basis, but then try to weasel out of it.