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In the latest episode of the Insurance Post Podcast, titled Raising the bar for cyber cover, Ridley said that while the insurance industry is very good at looking back at what has happened historically and then adjusting based on that, there is “a risk of over-reliance on that in cyber”.

He said cyber is an area that is far more dynamic and changes far more readily than any other line of business, and explained: “For me, it is not just as simple a case as saying these are the steps that would have prevented the type of incident we have seen over the past two years.

"We need to think slightly differently because if all customers fix those issues, and handle those matters that would have prevented those attacks, criminals will just pivot and look at something else.

“My approach, and what I try to advocate, is taking a more holistic approach. How does a customer best protect themselves? How do they identify what their risks are? How do they protect? How do they detect? How do they respond and recover from it?

“Allowing a customer to tell that story, and making our underwriting decisions based on that approach to cyber risk rather than having a pure tick list of measures would have prevented attacks over the past few years.”

Michela Moro, regional head of cyber, London & Nordic for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, said making sure the client has a culture of continuous improvement is vital as best practice today could be insufficient tomorrow.

Jon Choi, principal consultant of Cyber Cube, added that there are basic hygiene requirements when it comes to cyber cover – like wearing a seatbelt in a car – that only carries forward as criminals evolve their practices.

The trio also look at how cyber are insurers requiring businesses to reduce their cyber risk internally before applying for cover, plus what providers can do to get an organisation's house in order following a ransomware attack.

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