The Future of Risk and Insurance in a Digital World

Facebook, Under Armour, Panera and Lord & Taylor. This is just a small sampling of major corporations that have fallen victim to a cyberattack in 2018. While these incidents may have grabbed the headlines, data breaches that put our personal information at risk are happening all the time. According to McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the annual cost of cybercrime globally is estimated at $600 billion. Cyber fraud has become such a common occurrence, one can argue we are growing slightly desensitized and have adopted a feeling of “when,” instead of “if,” our personal information will be compromised.

Cyber threats can come from anywhere. For example, the exploitation of real estate transactions has become a popular trend for cybercriminals. During a recent home purchase, one of our members received a legitimate-seeming email from what appeared to be the seller’s attorney. They proceeded to wire nearly $1 million to complete the sale. By the time the member realized what had happened, the account had been closed and the funds were gone without a trace.

Our world is becoming increasingly more connected and the threat of cyber fraud is growing accordingly. Although commercial insurers understand the risk this poses to businesses and have been developing products in response, individuals are left exposed to more risk than ever before. Personal insurers have failed to keep pace with commercial providers in this space, and it’s time for them to catch up. As new potential threats continue to emerge—from cryptocurrency to autonomous driving—so must the tools and services insurers provide to proactively address this risk landscape.