WTW launches cyber marine cover

Willis Towers Watson has launched a cyber insurance product for shipowners. As the financial impact of cyber incidents continues to increase and the ‘silent cyber’ cover in traditional marine cover is being reduced, the cyber solution is designed to plug any remaining gaps in cover.

In 2017, the NotPetya ransomware attack cost shipping giant Moller-Maersk up to $300m in business interruption losses. Ben Abraham, the broker’s global head of Marine said: “Barely a week goes by without new cyber events affecting the maritime sector. Many are minor and unreported, but the major cases have caused consequential commercial losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

”In an environment of increasing ingenuity of cyber criminals and increasing levels of cyber security governance in the maritime industry, CyNav anticipates the protection that shipowners need to mitigate their cyber risk.” 

Shipowners are increasingly reliant on technology for all aspects of their operations and their unique risks associated with this dependency can lead to significant financial damage. 

WTW says the product addresses ship-operators’ exposures, rather than trying to use pre-existing products that are amended to fit marine exposures. It includes the following features:

• Crisis management costs cover that protects shipowners in the face of ransomware attacks, data breaches etc;
• Business interruption cover in the event of a cyber incident that disrupts operations (including where the incident occurs at a third-party IT service provider upon which the shipowner relies);
• Property damage and loss of hire cover arising from a cyber-attack or satellite communication interference (spoofing);
• Loss of hire cover arising from disruption to or detainment of a vessel following a cyber-attack, and
• Cover for fines and defence costs arising from regulatory actions, including those under GDPR and the Network and Information Systems Directive (NISD).