Information technology assets are now often as valuable as property assets, if not more so. Yet, in the 2015 Global Cyber Impact Report, sponsored by Aon, the Ponemon Institute found that information technology assets are 39% more exposed than property assets.
In one of the first studies comparing relative value of insurance protection, the research firm surveyed more than 2,200 companies in nearly 40 countries and found that, while cyber is one of the fastest growing risks for companies worldwide, companies are only protecting 12% of those assets, compared to 51% of tangible property assets.
Of the companies surveyed, 37% had already experienced a material or significantly disruptive security exploit or data breach one or more times in the past two years, from which the average economic loss was $2.1 million. Further, while 52% of respondents said they believe their company’s exposure to cyberrisk will increase over the next two years, only 19% have obtained cyber coverage.
“It’s clear that there is a risk and losses can be anticipated, but organizations are not insuring against the risk,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute. “This report substantiates a risk manager’s initiatives for how they allocate resources and where they focus.”