Behind The Firewall: Global Cyber Industry Insights

Ransomware/malware events remain the main driver of losses

Nymphea Batra, Chief Executive Officer, Guy Carpenter India

FinTech BizNews Service

Mumbai, February 20, 2025: Guy Carpenter has released its latest cyber research report, Behind the Firewall: 2024 Global Cyber Industry Insights. 

The paper provides an update on developments across the sector, quantifying the growth of the cyber industry, analyzing the size of the sector by region, and assessing recent rate movements. The report is also a continuation of Guy Carpenter’s previous Through the Looking Glass report concerning vendor risk views and provides both an update on expected industry losses and understanding of changes to the market.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• After very large compound rate increases in 2021 and 2022, the market has stabilized while experiencing modest softening in certain areas.
• This has culminated in a market that has expanded to an estimated USD 16.6 billion in 2024, with North America making up the majority at USD 10.5 billion, Europe at USD 3.9 billion, APAC at USD 1.7 billion and ROW at USD 0.5 billion.
• Although a significant portion of global premium still comes from carriers focused on North America, there has been a notable surge in growth in Europe and Asia.
• Ransomware/malware events remain the main driver of losses. Guy Carpenter’s understanding of the cyber threat landscape shows that ransomware/malware events remain a key concern for the industry, reinforcing this result.
• Global accumulation potential modeling reveals significant potential losses, with 1-in-200-year occurrence losses estimated between USD 20 billion and USD 46 billion.

Nymphea Batra, Chief Executive Officer, Guy Carpenter India, said, "India's insurance market is experiencing a period of stabilization following rate increases in 2021 and 2022. The ongoing threat of ransomware and malware continues to drive losses, highlighting the need for robust cyber insurance solutions. As larger companies seek more coverage at lower deductibles, the evolving risk landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for insurers in India and beyond."

“As global cyber insurance premiums continue to increase, there has been a shift in the geographical distribution of the business,” said Erica Davis, Global Co-Head of Cyber, Guy Carpenter. “Although a significant portion of global premium still comes from carriers focused on North America, there has been a notable surge in growth in Europe and Asia. This acceleration in growth is good news for global reinsurers’ desire to diversify their exposure, which further helps unlock new capacity in the regions.”

“This year’s study shows that the modeled outputs have increased across all return periods and the extreme tail due to a combination of a change in exposure year on year and the updates introduced by the newer versions of the vendor models,” said Anthony Cordonnier, Global Co-Head of Cyber, Guy Carpenter. “Market dynamics have shifted with an increased proportion of larger companies purchasing more cover across the board at relatively lower deductible levels. This growth in sum insured alongside a turbulent and ever-changing threat landscape has contributed to the development in vendor model losses.”