The coverage is the result of a collaboration among syndicates operating through the Lloyd’s of London market.
A new cyber crime insurance product has now been launched by Tom Ridge, a former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, by his firm, which created it in collaboration with a number of syndicates that operate through the Lloyd’s of London.
This insurance coverage is meant for businesses with under $500 million in market capitalization.
This means that approximately 80 percent of all American publicly quoted companies fit into the target market for this cyber crime insurance. Ridge Insurance Solutions will be selling policies of up to $50 million, each, and they are now available to purchase. At the launch, Ridge used Center for Strategic and International Studies data to drive home his point about the importance of this type of coverage for businesses of all sizes.
Cyber crime insurance has become increasingly important as a result of the vital dependence on connected computers.
Among the points that Ridge made with the cited data was that in 2013, there were 3,000 American companies that were hacked. He also stated that the global economy suffers a hit of over $445 billion every year as a result of cyber crime.
Ridge, who has also previously been the Governor of Pennsylvania, among the positions on his long political resume, explained that “This is not just about insurance, but helping and incentivizing companies to manage their cyber operations more effectively.”
The cyber crime insurance that is sold by Ridge’s firm is underwritten by Barbican Insurance Group, Novae, AEGIS London, Brit, and ACE. Marsh & McLennan subsidiary, Guy Carpenter, acted as broker in the formation of this new product. This type of coverage is becoming increasingly important and awareness about it is rapidly growing as high profile data breaches make their way to the headlines on a more regular basis. The damage that can be caused by even a “minor” breach can be surprisingly extensive and businesses are starting to discover that they need to cover themselves against a range of different costs and liabilities that are not a part of standard business policies.