Marsh is reporting that the number of clients purchasing stand-alone cyber insurance for the first time increased by 32 percent in 2014 vs 2013. Limits also increased, “with companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion purchasing 22% higher cyber limits, averaging $34.1 million, compared with $27.8 million in 2013,” according to the report, Benchmarking Trends: As Cyber Concerns Broaden, Insurance Purchases Rise.
However, increased loss activity has created difficulties for some policyholders, especially retailers, “whose renewal rates rose an average of 5% and as much as 10% for some clients.” According to the report, most industries were able to secure coverage with limits in excess of $200 million, but industries such as retailer and financial institutions faced a “challenging market.”