Cowbell, the provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), today released its Cyber Round-Up: Q2 2023 report.
The report explores insights from small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders “across the U.S., revealing that many SME leaders with cyber insurance feel better prepared for cyberattacks than those without coverage.”
91% of respondents with cyber insurance say “that their insurance provider has helped them avoid potential incidents.”
Furthermore, 77% of SMEs “with a cybersecurity strategy own a cyber insurance policy and are nearly nine times more likely to feel highly prepared to respond to a cyber incident.”
This, along with other data points, “underscores the notion that cyber insurance is critical to a sound cyber risk management strategy.”
Isabelle Dumont, SVP of Marketing and Technology Partners at Cowbell, said:
“The SME market is vast and dynamic. With 33 million U.S. organizations having revenue under $1 billion, this large segment is critically important to the health of the U.S. economy. As shown by this research, there is an opportunity to educate SMEs and insurance agents about the value of cyber insurance and accelerate adoption. ”
Critical infrastructure top cyberattack victims
The survey provided insights into “which industries suffered the most cyberattacks in the past 12 months with computer hardware or software (68%); utilities / energy / water / telecom (61%) and financial services or insurance (60%) as the top victims.”
This underscores the importance of “prioritizing defending and protecting critical infrastructure, which is highlighted in the recently released National Cybersecurity Strategy.
While SMEs are vulnerable targets for cyberattacks, they don’t have to be.
By defining a cyber risk management strategy, purchasing cyber insurance and adopting cybersecurity best practices, SMEs can “shore up their cyber defenses to prevent and mitigate threats.”
Cyber insurance, in particular, can “help SMEs lessen the severity of, and even prevent, cyber incidents.”
Methodology
The report yielded results “from 500 SME leaders across the U.S. An SME is defined as a business with under $1 billion in revenue. An independent research firm conducted the survey in February 2023.”
As covered, Cowbell claims it is “a pioneer of Adaptive Cyber Insurance, a leader in providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) coverage adaptable to today’s and tomorrow’s threats and the advanced warning of cyber risk exposures.”
In its unique AI-based approach to risk selection and pricing, Cowbell’s continuous underwriting platform, “powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue in less than 5 minutes.”
Cowbell is “backed by 20 prominent leading global (re)insurance partners and serves SMEs in 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.”
Founded in 2019, Cowbell is “based in the San Francisco Bay Area with employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K.”