b'CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY Cybersecurity InsuranceGrowth and ChallengesWith global costs of cyber incidents hitting $6 trillion in 2021, surveys indicate that businesses now view cyber attacks as the most significant type of risk they face. In a world where it is increasingly challenging to prevent all intrusions, even for the most sophisticated organizations, insurance can be an important tool in a companys approach to mitigating cybersecurity risks. Facing the significant expansion of cybersecurity threats arising during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have flocked to cyber insurance as a vital tool for augmenting risk predictability and facilitating risk transference. One report indicated that the number of companies seeking cyber insurance nearly doubled from 2016 to 2020, and another suggested that 75% of companies were buying some form of cyber liability insurance as of August 2021. The cyber insurance market is expected to grow to over $36 billion by 2028, from under $8 billion in 2021.At the same time, insurers are reconsidering whether and how to provide cyber coverage as losses from significant, often global, cybersecurity incidents mount and unpredictability rises. Numerous reports have attested to the significant rise in ransomware attacks over the past two years. And as the number of attacks has risen, so has the total dollar value of ransoms paid. Ransom payments in the first half of 2021 outpaced the value of such payments made over the entirety of 2020. Many of these payments are ultimately made or reimbursed by insurance companies. As a result, loss ratiosthe value of insurance claims paid out divided by premiums collectedhave climbed to new heights, in some cases exceeding 100%, indicating losses greater than premiums. Insurers have responded to these challenging trends by both raising premiums and limiting coverage. Reports indicate that US cyber insurance prices rose by more than 50% in early 2021. In some cases, insurers have also significantly scaled back the cyber coverage they are willing to offer. The intersection of these two trendsmore coverage sought and less coverage offeredreflect the extent of the risk companies across economic sectors, including the insurance industry itself, now perceive in cybersecurity threats.142|Global Insurance Industry Year in Review 2021'