‘Insider’s guide’ to cyber risk and insurance among new Airmic publications

Published in partnership with McGill and Partners, the Guide answers 12 questions associated with cyber risk and insurance, posed from a director’s perspective. The answers are intended to provide general guidance, subject to the significant caveat that no two cyber risks or cyber insurance policies are the same.

“No directors can afford to ignore the ever evolving and expanding cyber threats posed to companies on whose board they sit,” said Francis Kean, Partner for Financial Lines at McGill & Partners.

“Given that most board members are not IT experts, how should they go about the task of assessing both the nature and level of these threats and the state of the company’s preparedness and resilience to meet them?

“We hope this Guide will prove a useful and practical tool to enable them to do this whilst at the same time providing some useful clarity both as to certain key definitions and expressions and as to the role cyber insurance can play in risk mitigation.”

Julia Graham, CEO of Airmic, said while training and accreditations will be valuable for organisations to put robust cyber security processes in place, she said members should take valued guidance from the publication.

“There is no “one size fits all” approach to addressing cyber risks with specific business circumstances varying greatly from organisation to another,” said Julia Graham, CEO of Airmic.

“It may be appropriate for organisations to consider accreditation or certification from a recognised body, such as Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO270001. These accreditations may help an organisation, however, accreditation alone is not enough.

“Asking the “right” questions before a problem arises, makes good management sense. This guide is an important contribution to our members who support their leadership, as they collectively navigate an increasingly complex world and associated governance responsibilities.”

Two EXPLAINED Guides have also been released by Airmic. One is a Guide on Employee Benefits and Managing Insurance Programmes, produced in partnership with WTW, which outlines the evolution of the management of employee benefit risks and highlights the opportunity to manage these to bring financial and other value to organisations.

“Companies are currently experiencing the effects of The Great Resignation,” said Stephanie Ings, Director at WTW. “Those companies that have a highly competitive employee benefits offering that is tailored for their employees and aligned with their business strategy will be able to attract new talent, retain their existing people and deliver on their business objectives.”

The second EXPLAINED Guide has been developed in partnership with Mactavish and provides information on the considerations involved when managing a broker tender.

“Choosing an insurance broker is an important decision in the purchase of insurance and this guide sets out to provide guidance on making informed purchasing decisions,” said Heidi Carslaw, Managing Director at Mactavish.

“The guide encourages expert external verification of the cover being proposed and an independent review on its fitness for purpose.”

Airmic has also released its Future of the Profession survey results, which found:

1. Environment, social and governance (ESG) issues have become an integral part of the risk profession – 45% of survey respondents also have responsibilities in ESG.
2. Risk professionals are seeking to rapidly ramp up their knowledge base on climate issues.
3. Business continuity and resilience have also been entrenched as part of the role of risk professionals, amid Brexit, the pandemic, and now the Ukraine crisis.
4. The increase in those who have joint responsibility for managing risk and insurance indicates that the Airmic objective to drive the integration of managing risk and insurance is moving in a positive direction.
5. The risk profession has made huge strides in improving diversity and inclusion for women, but gender and other diversity remains a work-in-progress.
6. The risk profession is a rewarding one in which Airmic members tend to stay for more than a decade. They are loyal to their organisations, with more than half of them having worked for their current organisation for six years or more.

“Organisational agility and adaptability has driven the survival – and success – of businesses over the past two difficult years, said Amanda Scott, Managing Director and Global Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Leader at WTW.

“Survey participants have indicated that underpinning this is strong leadership, communications (both internally and externally), as well as culture. Culture in particular has been a top topic this year, with many organisations focusing on how to evolve for the future.

“Risk professionals are recognising how central people issues are for building a truly resilient organisational culture – be it improving communications to break down silos, or the well-being and mental health of employees. Only then can an organisation withstand a worst-case systemic risk.”

Visit the Airmic Technical Library for access to all of the Association’s surveys, guides and white papers.