The Association of British Insurers has reiterated its call for access to anonymised breach data from the Information Commissioner's Office. Director of general insurance policy at the association, James Dalton said a redoubling of efforts was needed to enable access to the necessary data for the good of the insurance industry.

“One of the most significant issues with cyber insurance pricing and underwriting is the lack of robust data on cyber risk. Unlike colleagues in the property insurance sector who can rely on hundreds of years of claims experience, cyber underwriters do not have such a wealth of information," Dalton said.

“Progress in delivering this access with the ICO has not been as swift as we would have liked… ultimately a healthier cyber insurance market is good for businesses, good for the economy and, most importantly, good for all of us as customers of businesses dealing with ever increasing amounts of our data."

Dalton also reiterated his firm rebuttal to suggestions of product standardisation across the cyber market:

"Cyber risk is constantly changing and evolving. As a consequence, insurers need to frequently adapt and change their policy wordings, question sets, and underwriting approaches in order to ensure that they are best serving their customers while managing their exposures prudently in line with their regulatory responsibilities," he said.

“It is misguided… to attempt to impose standards on the cyber insurance market, especially one that is in its relative infancy and one that needs flexibility to respond to an ever-changing cyber risk landscape.”

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