New York’s DFS publishes a Cyber Insurance Risk Framework
New York’s Division of Financial Services (DFS) now requires Property and Casualty Insurers writing cyber insurance to comply with the Division’s Cyber Insurance Risk Framework to manage their risk.
In her letter introducing the Cyber Insurance Risk Framework, DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell states that the increase in frequency and cost of ransomware has not only shown that cybersecurity is of critical importance to modern life, but also that cyber insurance plays a vital role in the mitigation and reduction of risk from ransomware.
According to its 2020 survey, DFS found a 180% increase in the number of ransomware claims between 2018 and 2019, with an increase of 150% on average for the costs associated with those claims. The problem continued in 2020, where DFS received nearly double the number of reports of ransomware attacks from the year prior. Not only are these trends a concern for consumer protection and infrastructure security, the escalating costs pressure the cyber insurance industry to raise prices, tighten its underwriting standards, and issue sweepingly broad exclusions.