The number of cyber-insurance policies sold in India may cross 2,000 in the next five years.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Amit Agarwal, managing director, liability and specialty risk at HowdenInsurance Brokers India, said that while a cyber insurance policy will not protect an enterprise from an attack, it allows some of the financial risks to be transferred and assists entities with mitigating disruption.

“There is no published data available to give us a clear indication of the number of policies being placed. Our estimation says it can be between800 to 1,200, but it is difficult to gaze at the size of premiums,” said Agarwal.

“Industry trends suggest that the adoption of cyber cover is on the rise, and in the next three to five years,we believe the Indian market could have, at least, anywhere between 2,000 and 2,500 cyber policies availed by corporates. Post-pandemic there has been a significant increase in the number of cyber insurance policies,” he said.

A cyber insurance policy typically provides cover for liability claims as well as first-party costs. The first-party cost typically includes direct expenses incurred by the company such as incident response, business continuity support and forensic costs.

The third-party liability covers the defence costs and settlements arising from legal liability and claims made against the enterprise.

“Corporate entities have led the way in buying cyber insurance policies as they hold a large amount of data that can impact, and a breach could impact several hundred or thousands of individuals,” Agarwal said.

“PSUs are becoming aware of their cyber exposures and large-scale implications. However, in the last year, insurers have issued policies for individuals also.”