Data and cyber threat modeling: what to consider in a changing market

Data and cyber threat modeling: what to consider in a changing market

In today’s hardening cyber insurance market, making informed decisions can be difficult, so it’s more important than ever for cyber underwriters to be prepared for the road ahead. Cyber underwriting conditions are changing, with premiums increasing, capacity decreasing, and insurers altering their policy terms and conditions. 

To best tackle these challenges head-on and maintain profitability, insurers must be able to utilize the right analytics and adapt to the current market. It’s about equipping insurers with the right tools and the right knowledge, empowering them to make the right cyber risk decisions and recommendations in a manner tailored for their workflow. 

The right insights and why they matter

There are many variables to consider when it comes to cyber risk management in a hardening market — and predicting potential cyber loss can be a particularly difficult nut to crack. Insurers need to make sure that they use the right insights to their advantage, whether they’re underwriting policies or advising clients. 

It’s crucial that you use a cyber risk analytics tool that can efficiently provide all of the data you need. When choosing a solution, there are many factors to consider, including whether the data your tool provides is high quality or not. 

Having a large quantity of data doesn’t necessarily mean it will include the relevant or appropriate information you need to make effective decisions and recommendations. In fact, having too much data can become burdensome, especially if you don’t have the resources to wade through that data and focus on what’s important to your insurance business’s goals. The right cyber risk analytics tool will distill the universe of available data into the critical information you require and place it right at your fingertips. 

The cyber risk analytics solution you use should also provide an array of features to help your workflow, such as: 

  • - Accurate and verified data
  • - Actionable insights
  • - Critical signals with statistical significance 
  • - The ability to quantify loss potential
  • - Insights into technology dependencies

You want to ensure that you have the quality data you need, helping you quantify cyber risk to best underwrite policies accurately, efficiently and profitably. The right solution partner will also ensure that you can get the most out of your chosen tool. 

How to choose a data-driven partner

Choosing a solution that harnesses an effective exposure, risk, and threat modeling process is essential to your workflow. Your tool needs to act in tandem with you and your goals; it should ensure that you can establish the view of risk you need, whether for your own underwriting needs or in order to make the right recommendations to your clients. 

Transparency

Many cyber risk analytics tools will claim to have the data you need — however, you need to consider how transparent a potential partner will be with you about their data and how they utilize it in their solution. Ultimately, transparency into how they process and streamline their data can help reassure that the data they are providing is verified. In turn, you can make confident risk choices. 

Hands-on expertise

While quality data is essential, it’s also vital that your cyber risk analytics partner can provide you access to the expertise you need to stay up-to-date on your most pressing concerns and maintain an effective underwriting approach.

In a dynamic cyber threat landscape, understanding the latest trends and potential cyber losses will also ensure that you are equipped to face these challenges head on. A cyber risk partner should be able to consult with you about the most important trends, as well as the latest tactics and techniques threat actors are using.  

The right partner will help you to make the most out of your solution, help you operationalize your view of risk and ensure you gain the actionable insights you need to reach your objectives. 

Be ready to adapt to the changing market

The right cyber risk analytics solution that provides the right data will ensure that you can effectively adapt to a rapidly changing market, helping you make justifiable risk decisions. 

The number of cyber attacks and data breaches will only increase as technology progresses. Staying ahead of the current cyber landscape, with knowledge from cyber experts, will also give you the necessary edge to make informed decisions — so ensure your cyber risk quantification solution serves your overarching needs and helps you maintain profitability.

It’s crucial that you leverage data and cyber threat modeling effectively. To learn more about what else you need to consider when it comes to cyber underwriting in a hardening market, check out our blog all about it — Underwriting cyber risk: 5 features to look for in a cyber modeling solution.

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