Best practices for Canadian businesses to get and keep cyber insurance coverage: Tough lessons learned from U.S. hardening market

Cyber attacks, including ransomware, continue to grow more sophisticated and more prevalent each passing year. Despite this, many Canadian companies have been slow to secure cyber insurance coverage – and those now wishing to do so may face a brittle insurance climate. Indeed, in the wake of a sharp increase in the volume of high-value claims, U.S. cyber insurers are revisiting coverage requirements and exclusions, and pursuing more aggressive strategies to protect themselves against increasing future risk exposure posed by such claims. This when a binder is provided based on misrepresentations (for instance, making false claims to having enterprise-wide multifactor authentication), which resulted last year in a U.S. claims case where a policy was rescinded possibly triggering an alarming trend that might be followed in Canada.

Accordingly, the primary purpose of this presentation is to show why it behooves companies of all sizes in Canada seeking to obtain or renew a binder in this changing market to: 1) be all the more diligent in continuously strengthening their cyber readiness by meeting imposed products/practices requirements; and 2) be transparent to prospective insurers - both of these things giving companies the possibility of securing better terms in the future.

In this webinar, co-hosted with GCRA, our panel of experienced industry professionals explore this evolving space from a number of perspectives. The topics, which are tailored to Canadian companies of any size, include:

• The practical implications of Canada's hardening cyber insurance market.
• Cyber security practices and measures applicants either must or – if they want to exceed then-minimum requirements to be able to request with confidence lower premiums/higher limits/other better terms – should consider prior to seeking a new or renewed policy, as well as what brokers/carriers might do to engender much-needed trust/good will/confidence that claims will be honored/paid.
• Lessons from the U.S. insurance market, including that recent high-profile (some might say "shot across the bow") claims case noted above.
• How Canadian policyholders can manage and mitigate the risk of potential policy rescission.

Speakers

• Deborah Hirschorn, Managing Director (U.S. Cyber & Technology Claims Leader, Lockton)
• Roger Hacala, National Practice Leader (Financial and Professional Services, BFL Canada)
• Pauline Gardikiotis, Vice President (Western Region Leader- Claims & Operations, BFL Canada)
• Avi Mali, Underwriting Specialist (Cyber & Professional Liability, Zurich Canada)