Article ID: 9a7db4bf8858d2c2ff68f21cc9c34c619b963c4206d4d1487b319862c4bd1fca
Source ID: secondary:insurancetimes.co.uk
Published At: -
Extraction Method: trafilatura
Body Text
In its 2026 manifesto, Biba proposed a UK cyber backstop to meet the risk of increasingly severe attacks and low cyber insurance penetration. But is this partnership feasible and could it effectively mitigate extreme systemic cyber risk? WE ASKED: “How beneficial would a cyber-centric public-private partnership be for UKGI and its end clients?” Shaune Worrall, deputy head of general insurance, Biba Biba recently submitted views to Parliament on this issue, as the cyber security and resilience bill reached its committee stage. One of those views considers a backstop for extreme systemic cyber events. While a strong private insurance market is the key for day-to-day protection, a government backed pool covering the most extreme events, with very clear triggers, could be a solution where losses are too large for the private market alone. The overall size of market adoption for standalone cyber insurance and low take-up among SMEs means cyber systemic risk might not be forefront of the insurance industry’s priorities. Nonetheless, what will be needed to underpin growth and confidence in a maturing cyber insurance market is the means to cover a large systemic incident. With new covid business interruption cases still reaching the courts in 2026, we know what happens if these certainties aren’t in place. With new ‘customer business interruption’ cyber policy extensions giving suppliers cover if their own key customers are attacked, one wonders if this will hasten the need for systemic cyber solutions. The Cyber Monitoring Centre has a wise view, shared by Biba, on what needs to happen next – the “government should seek to begin clarifying thresholds for future intervention, definitions of critical economic sectors and related parameters”. Tom Draper, managing director, Coalition The current private market already covers cyber incidents to an extent. It has reacted to demand but has chosen not to cover certain risks, such as physical damage hitting critical national infrastructure – that’s not an appetite the market has. When it comes to backstops, that is a very different proposition because that is essentially the insurance market being unable to accept systemic risk of major concern. There are a couple of real challenges with that. One of which is that, in the UK, most of the premium that flows in for cyber is not UK premium. Therefore, a challenge with Cyber Re existing is that the UK exposure is quite small, because most of the exposure is in US-centric policies, as it’s Lloyd’s underwriters writing US deals. Meanwhile, there is not a market gap in the need for insurance or reinsurance – syndicates and insurers can already go out and happily purchase cyber reinsurance. Where there is a concern is areas with geopolitical risk, the government itself acts as a financial backstop anyway. Read: In Focus – Could cyber-centric broker schemes boost commercial cyber insurance penetration? Read: Attacking opportunity – Can the cyber insurance market deliver in 2026? Explore more cyber-related content here, or discover other news analysis stories here Finally, it also comes down to cyber insurance being made mandatory. As there is not an appetite to impose cost on business, we wouldn’t expect to see anything close to that. With a range of freelance experience, Harriet has contributed to regional news coverage in London and Sheffield, as well as music and entertainment reporting across various publications.View full Profile Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance. No comments yet
Metadata (JSON)
{
"score": 9.2625
}