Marsh, Insurers Seek to Provide Cybersecurity Guidance through New Partnership

Global insurance broker Marsh recently announced its partnership with insurers active in the cyber insurance market, including Allianz, AXA XL, Beazley, Zurich and others.

Marsh’s evaluation program called Cyber Catalyst intends to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to cybersecurity products. With a glut of cybersecurity products and “more than 3,000 providers” of cyber risk solutions to choose from, cyber insurance clients will likely appreciate the guidance.

Marsh Cyber Practice Leader Thomas Reagan described the main motivator behind Cyber Catalyst as a response to two questions that cyber insurance brokers most often hear from their clients: “What cybersecurity products and services should I use, particularly the one that may not be on my radar?” and “If I use them, what value will those products and services have for my insurer and for my insurance program?”

To that end, the panel formed by insurers participating in Cyber Catalyst will evaluate offerings that address major risks in the cybersecurity arena, such as data breaches or business interruption. Marsh itself will not participate in the evaluations and will instead act as a technical advisor for the insurers by “providing counsel on the products and services being evaluated.”

Reagan emphasized that the evaluations will not be ratings. Once an evaluation of a product or service is complete, that product or service will receive the Cyber Catalyst designation, or it will not. “We’re not going to say certain organizations or products and services didn’t receive the designation,” he said. “We’re just trying to identify things that we think are worthy.”

Additionally, those firms that adopt products or services with the Cyber Catalyst designation may qualify for more beneficial terms and conditions on the policies they have with participating insurers.