London, United Kingdom, November 25, 2021 — A new study from Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, reveals almost four in ten (37%) UK consumers are not aware of what cyber insurance is. The remaining 63% are aware of it, but almost half (46%) of them do not know what cyber insurance protects them from. Despite this, over half of respondents (57%) report having had issues online (such as experiencing identity theft, or a ransomware attack). In fact, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau found that business and consumer losses from fraud and cyber crime in the UK has totalled almost £2.5 billion since the start of 2020. 

The research also highlights the concerns the majority of UK consumers have over issues such as identity theft (69%), leaks of personal data (67%), ransomware attacks (64%) and stalkerware attacks (64%); all of which can be key drivers to taking up cyber insurance policies to protect online security. 

These clear concerns signal a huge opportunity for insurance providers to step up, and offer cyber protection policies as well as educating customers of insurance benefits, not only to help restore peace of mind, but to prevent large payouts resulting from cybercrime. While cyber insurance policies are available in the UK, Avast’s survey reveals insurance companies are not proactively promoting them as almost two thirds (58%) of UK consumers say none of their insurance providers have offered cyber insurance as an option so far.  

There is a gap in the market for insurance companies to fill as out of those consumers who do have cyber insurance policies in place (6%), only 37% receive it from insurance companies followed by Banks (24%), Pension Providers (19%), Device Manufacturers (19%) and Service Providers (17%). 

For UK consumers, the potential for cyber protection and insurance together appears to be more appealing than a standalone offering. In fact, 71% of respondents said they would take up products to protect their online security (e.g. antivirus) if it was bundled with cyber insurance and 78% would take up a product to protect privacy online (e.g. VPN, secure browser, password manager) if it was bundled with cyber insurance. A further 62% said they would likely pay extra for the addition.

“People have never needed the internet more as the global Covid-19 pandemic radically shifted how much more people do online. Part of our digital freedom online is the confidence in online safety and knowing that if something does happen there are steps that can be taken to account for loss through cyber security issues. This is where insurers have a critical role to play,” commented Nick Viney, Senior Vice President & General Manager at Avast. “The findings from this survey highlight a general call for insurance providers to educate customers on the benefits of cyber insurance and a huge commercial opportunity for insurance companies to capitalise on the increased demand for protection of personal data.”

Avast partners with insurance providers to offer their customers personal data and identity protection along with cyber insurance programs. The company also offers threat intelligence feeds which insurance providers can leverage as an add-on service for their customers, sharing insights on the latest cyber threats. More information can be found at: https://www.avast.com/en-us/partners