Cyber insurance policies on surge in transactions

A rise in digital transactions has seen a jump in post-pandemic cyber frauds. In such a scenario, more corporates and individuals have started opting for cyber insurance policies to protect themselves from financial loss due to leakage of confidential data.

Cyber insurance is a type of cover that protects businesses and individuals from financial losses due to various digital age threats such as malware attacks, phishing, identity theft, and social media breach.

The number of e-transactions increased after the pandemic, and has gained a lot of momentum in cyber insurance. There was the risk of cyber fraud with that. There is an increase in demand for cyber insurance, not only by the corporates but also by retail customers, who are aware of it, says Rajesh Kumar Sharma, CEO and Principal Officer, Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers.

At the end of FY 22, 32 per cent of the country's economy was at the end of FY 22 from 95.4 per cent in FY 20. The RBI Digital Payments Index, which tracks digital payments, was up 29.08 per cent to reach a new all-time high of 349.3 points in March 2022, from 270.59 points a year ago.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India IRDAI released guidelines for a model cyber insurance policy for individuals that general insurers are advised to follow due to the rise in fraud. A cyber insurance policy is a good idea because everything, from his wealth to savings, is prone to be lost due to cyberattacks. These policies are also available at an affordable rate. For example, the premium charged by Bajaj Allianz for a sum assured of Rs 10 lakh is Rs 2,848 exclusive of GST This product is also offered by other insurance companies and some of these are Tata AIG, ICICI Lombard and New India Assurance, says S.K.. Sethi, the Director of RIA Insurance Brokers, and author of the book 1 Cyber Attack Can Ruin You Forever.