A survey of perceptions about cyber risk sponsored by the American International Group Inc. (AIG) found that among corporate executives, more are concerned about cyber threats than about other major business risks.

More than 85 percent of the 258 decision-makers surveyed said they were very or somewhat concerned about cyber risks to their organizations, compared with the group’s response to six other areas of risk, including income loss (82 percent of executives were very or somewhat concerned), property damage (80 percent), and securities and investment risk (76 percent).

Additional survey results, which include input from insurance brokers, found high demand among executives and brokers for information about cyber threats, with 80 percent indicating that they find it difficult to keep pace because the cyber threat is evolving so rapidly. In response AIG has developed a mobile app for cyber risk management and will introduce other tools its CyberEdge risk management portfolio.

Other findings provide further insight into the pervasiveness of cyber risk concern among executives and brokers:

  • More than two out of three (69 percent) executives and brokers believe that the reputational risk from a cyber attack is far greater to a company than the financial risk.
  • More than seven in ten (75 percent) executives and brokers say legal compliance issues are making companies think more about cyber risks.
  • The vast majority of brokers and executives (82 percent) believe hackers are the primary source of cyber threats, though a significant portion of those surveyed (71 percent) also perceive human error as a significant component of cyber risk.

“These new survey findings confirm that business leaders view cyber risk as a top business concern, with great potential for reputational and financial loss,” said John Gambale, head of professional liability and Lexington financial lines executive, U.S./Canada Financial Lines, AIG.

Cyber App for Cyber Threats

AIG has launched CyberEdge mobile app for the iPad, which is in response to demand for information about cyber risk and how to help mitigate and respond to it. The app is available as a free download to anyone at the Apple  iTunes Store.

The app features the latest cyber news, real-time information on country-wide data breaches, a breach cost calculator, an events calendar and a glossary of common cyber terms.  More than 20 claims narratives are included in the app to help brokers and clients better understand how other companies are handling breaches.

CyberEdge policyholders that qualify now also have access to AutoShun, a third-party hardware device that sits between a customer’s firewall and the external Internet, to help stop a cyber attack in real-time by blocking inbound and outbound communication with known bad IP addresses.

In addition, AIG has launched the CyberEdge RiskTool, a web portal enabling qualifying CyberEdge policyholders to proactively manage risk management policies, training and compliance to mitigate cyber exposure.

About the Survey

On behalf of AIG, Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted the survey of 323 risk managers, IT decision makers, C-suite executives, and brokers in the United States and Canada who play a role in selling insurance policies or determining insurance programs within their organizations. The survey includes a mix of AIG customers and other companies, including 60 companies with revenue between $1 billion and $10 billion, mid-market businesses with revenue between $10 million and $1 billion, as well as large and mid-sized broker partners.  These interviews took place October through November 2012.  Overall, margin of error is +/-5.45% and larger for sub-audiences.