General Insurance Article - Cyber insurance moving to personal lines as interest grows

 At present, the personal cyber insurance market is targeted towards high net worth (HNW) individuals, with cover often sold alongside or provided as an add-on to home insurance. Yet, with a considerable number of individuals showing an interest in purchasing this type of cover this should change - particularly as 58% of those interested have a household income of less than £50,000.

 Daniel Pearce, Senior Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The need for cyber insurance policies has long been identified in the commercial space, where reliance on technology for day-to-day business activities has grown at an exponential rate.

 However, individuals have also become increasingly dependent on technology. With their exposure to cyber risks growing, the personal cyber insurance market is burgeoning.”

 Chubb is one insurer that is well-placed to capitalize on this burgeoning market, having launched a standalone personal cyber insurance policy for UK consumers in October 2020. Chubb has been able to leverage its position as a leading provider in the HNW home insurance market. Elements of personal cyber insurance cover have already been developed and offered alongside its home policies, helping cement Chubb as an early developer of standalone protection for the mass market.

 Pearce adds: “Providers should not look to exclusively offer personal cyber insurance policies as standalone products. GlobalData research indicates that 71% of those who are interested in purchasing a cyber insurance product already hold home insurance cover.

 With the business case for selling cyber insurance products alongside or as add-ons to home insurance already established in the HNW market, providers should not rule this out as a means of reaching out to their existing customer base.”