Kathmandu. As cyber risk is increasing in the Asia-Pacific region, the adoption of cyber insurance in the region is low. According to a new report from Aon, only 17 percent of companies’ digital assets are insured, despite the growing demand for digital transformation and growing concerns about cyber threats. Industry experts have attributed this shortage to a variety of factors, from a lack of financial modeling to limited coverage options.
“Cyber risk remains a major concern for business leaders,” says Adam Peckman, Global Head of Cyber Risk Consulting and Head of Cyber Solutions for the Asia Pacific region at Aon. There is a lack of financial analysis. Only 12.3 percent of companies use analytics to inform their cyber insurance decisions. ’
Pickman cites regulatory weaknesses as a major challenge. “The Asia-Pacific region has fewer regulatory requirements than other regions like North America and Europe,” he says. This often forces companies to buy cyber insurance after major events. ’
However, Pickman believes that the trend is changing, especially as the sector develops stricter regulations around data protection and cybersecurity.
Jennifer Branney, Gallagher Reema International Head of Cyber, emphasises the supply of appropriate cyber insurance products to the individual cases. “This coverage is not appropriate for the market in the Asia Pacific region, and agents are often not trained to sell it effectively,” says Brawney. Especially for big risks, we need to bring the supply of cyber capabilities to where there is demand. ’
Braney says while regulations are necessary, they should also take action. “In the Asia-Pacific region, we see a lack of regulation,” she says. We need more comprehensive regulations. This motivates businesses to improve their cybersecurity practices. ’
Both Peckman and Braney agree that regulators play a key role in promoting cyber resilience. “Regulators should raise expectations for security, data security and risk governance, and introduce mandatory incident reporting to promote information sharing across industries,” Peckman suggests. ’
