Conference Recap: American Bar Association Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

The following is the second blog post in a multi-part series on cybersecurity insurance produced by ACA Aponix^®’s Thought Leadership Team. The objective of this series is to provide clients with the highest quality insights and expertise on the changing and evolving cyber insurance marketplace. To help guide this research and to receive actionable data on premium rates, coverage limits, and more, take the 2022 Aponix Cyber Insurance survey here. 

The rise in the frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks globally has led cyber insurance to be top of mind for many organizations as they seek to protect their business operations from future cyber-related losses. Yet, at the same time, these factors have led to tremendous changes in the cyber insurance market. From an increase in demand, to tighter terms and exclusions, rising premiums, and lower coverage limits, buyers across industries are facing significant changes to their cyber insurance policies due to these hardening market trends.    

Dennis Logan Jr., a Senior Client Development Associate with ACA Aponix, recently had the opportunity to attend the American Bar Association’s Annual Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Conference entitled Book It: You’ve Got the Cyber Risks, We’ve Got the Answers hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. The two-day conference gathered lawyers, brokers, risk managers, insurers, cybersecurity experts, and FBI cyber investigators together to discuss current and emerging trends impacting the cyber insurance market. The conference coincided with the publication and release of ABA’s book, A Practical Guide to Cyber Insurance for Businesses, which Logan was a contributing author.  

“Unfortunately, a key takeaway from the conference is that cyber insurance premiums are expected to continue to rise while coverage limits fall as a result of the forecasted increase in cyber-crimes,” notes Logan.  “However, the upside is that many underwriters are grasping the task at hand and educating their clients on proper cybersecurity posture to reduce their risk and therefore their premium.”  

Prior to 2018, it was relatively easy for companies to get by with bare minimum-security controls and obtain cyber coverage at a low premium. However, the surge in cyber-attacks of the last few years has led insurers to apply greater scrutiny towards applicants’ cybersecurity posture and demand specific remediations and security controls ahead of obtaining coverage.   

At the same time, cybersecurity regulations at the state and federal levels are picking up pace, placing additional pressure on companies across industries to buttress their cybersecurity programs. Logan considers this the biggest and most important takeaway from the conference, because almost every business is facing this obstacle, yet many lack clear guidance on how to navigate this evolving regulatory landscape. “This has been a key concern when speaking with clients and having the ability to provide our expertise to guide them along this uncharted territory is a key reason why I am passionate about what we do here at Aponix”. 

Resources

About Dennis Logan Jr: Dennis is part of the Business Development Team at ACA Aponix working with private equity firms & portfolio companies.  Prior to joining ACA, Dennis Underwrote & Brokered Cyber, Professional, Management, Property & Casualty Liability Insurance policies for Top 5 Insurance Carriers, Wholesale & Retail agencies. Utilizing his B.A. in Psychology from Bucknell University, Dennis exceeds at detecting unrealized pain points of businesses & finding efficient solutions. 

• For more information on cyber insurance and to receive current data on changing cyber insurance premiums, coverage limits, and more, take the 2022 Aponix Cyber Insurance survey here.
• Cyber Insurance: Top Five Trends for 2022
• Results and more insights will be shared during our upcoming spring conference session on cyber insurance, you can register and find more details about ACA’s 2022 Spring Conference agenda here.   

How we help

ACA Aponix offers the following solutions that can help your financial institution develop, implement, and maintain the required information security program:  

• Business Continuity Planning, Cyber Incident Response Planning, and Business Impact Analysis
• Domain Monitoring
• Portfolio Oversight
• Payment and Fraud Risk Assessment Services
• Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessments
• Phishing Testing