81: Cyber risk: Why isn’t it growing as an ILS peril?

For our latest interview, we were joined by Tom Johansmeyer, Head of PCS to discuss the issue of cyber risk and ask the question, why isn't it a bigger exposure in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market? 

For almost a decade, the subject of cyber insurance-linked securities (ILS), cyber catastrophe bonds and the ILS fund market as provider of cyber reinsurance, has been a topic of conversation at industry events around the world, our own included. 

But years later, the ILS market's ventures in cyber risk remain relatively limited, to some bespoke transactions and exposure picked up silently from other lines of business. Why is that? 

Tom Johansmeyer and I explored some of the reasons behind this.

Asking questions such as does the ILS market even want cyber risk? Is a lack of data, risk models and industry loss events still a limiting factor? How big an issue are ransomware losses right now? What could catalyse the need for more risk capital? And, why is cyber reinsurance and retro so dysfunctional right now.