Canadian Underwriter


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How not to deal with a ransomware attack

December 19, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Your client should never have to negotiate with a cyber criminal even if that client has suffered a ransomware attack, cyber security experts advise. Ransomware is a type of computer malware that prevents clients from either using their computers or

News ClaimsRiskTechnology

Privacy breach hotel faces class action in Canada

December 11, 2018 Tara Deschamps - THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO – Canadians who stayed at Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Canada ULC hotels are taking legal action against the companies following a security breach. At least three proposed class actions have been launched in Toronto and Montreal against the

Ontario legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario government
News Legislation / RegulationRiskTechnology

Cyber risk concerns behind this consumer protection law

December 11, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Identity theft risk increases when banks release customer information to government agencies doing research, an Ontario politician suggests. “The more information flows around, the more likely there is to be a hacking. It’s just like the more you are driving

News Insurance

How Canada’s largest banks manage cyber risk

November 23, 2018 Armina Ligaya - THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO – Hackers are targeting Toronto-Dominion Bank’s internal systems at all hours using cutting-edge techniques, but the bank’s head of cybersecurity isn’t losing sleep over them – they work for him, after all. The bank established late last year an

News InsuranceRisk

Is your client properly insured for computer crime?

November 22, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Brokers placing commercial insurance for the risk of theft should pay close attention to exclusions. Exclusions on some policies covering crime losses for financial institutions may be leaving a gap in cover computer crime, a new paper from Marsh Inc.

News CatastrophesInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

The flood risk that might be unaccounted for

November 19, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Insurers might be unintentionally covering flood and fire risks arising from computer problems, a cyber expert with a risk modelling firm suggests. “Anything that is related to a computer system could trigger non-cyber losses,” Matt Honea, cyber director for Cyence

News InsuranceRiskTechnology

Breach notification law calls for some ‘major adjustments’

November 13, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

The Canada-wide data breach law, which has been in effect for two weeks, is pushing businesses manage cyber risk more effectively, a computer security expert says. The federal Digital Privacy Act makes it mandatory for clients to disclose data breaches

News InsuranceTechnology

How Canadian insurers should price for their ‘silent cyber’ exposures

November 8, 2018 by David Gambrill

The possibility exists of a global, widescale, multi-country cyber security breach. To get a true sense of their overall exposure, Canadian property and casualty insurers should be reviewing all of the policies they sell – not just dedicated cyber policies,

News RiskTechnology

Why cyber criminals may be targetting this Canadian bank

November 8, 2018 Armina Ligaya - THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO – The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of the most commonly targeted brands used by cyberthieves in phishing attacks across North America, with a more than 600 per cent surge in fake email attempts in the third

News InsuranceMarkets / CoveragesTechnology

What small business clients value about cyber insurance

October 21, 2018 by Jason Contant

Small business clients gravitate to cyber insurance not for the insurance, per se, but for the accompanying services following an incident, a cyber underwriter said recently. “If you think about it in the context of car insurance, they’re buying their

News RiskTechnology

Where the next big cyberattack could come from

October 17, 2018 by Jason Contant

Cyber extortionists will soon likely gravitate toward attacks on global or shared infrastructure, a cybersecurity expert predicts. From a cyber insurance perspective, brokers should highlight that the coverage helps organizations manage the risks they can control, as well as the

News InsuranceMarkets / CoveragesTechnology

How brokers should define cyber to clients

October 16, 2018 by Jason Contant

Cyber insurance needs to be explained using plain language, rather than by “insurance people using insurance-isms,” a large cyber underwriter said recently. “Part of the problem with cyber is the fact that it’s called cyber,” said Andy Holmes, chief underwriter