At the close of our cyber risk training programs for insurers and agents, we are often struck with one overriding observation: how much agents and carriers value cyber education. The follow-up questions are numerous and many agents linger just to talk about the topic and learn more.

A few days (or weeks) later we usually hear about the impact of that education - in the form of a rise in requests for cyber quotes. In one case, a client was deluged with requests only hours after our cyber training event.

The connection between education and sales is particularly strong for cyber risk, an area where exposures and policies are complex and changing fast. Once agents know how vulnerable their customers are and how affordable the coverage is, they pick up the phone.

Businesses themselves confirm the causative link, according to recent studies.¹

Once businesses learned more about data breaches and cyber exposures, they became buyers. Those left unprotected failed to see how cyber mattered to their business, or chose to ignore what was thought to be too hard.

The unifying thread in the decision to buy or not buy cyber insurance is education. This offers a rich opportunity for agents to inform customers about risks and insurance options. It also presents a great threat to the success of agents who are not educating their small business clients.

Consider this:

At least 13% of businesses believe they already have cyber protection under their existing commercial programs, when in fact most policies exclude it. This false assumption can lead to agent E&O lawsuits. We see this knowledge gap when it comes to Employment Practices Insurance (EPLI) as well.

Agents are a major source of education for small businesses. Are your agents receiving the cyber education they need to help policyholders?

Training is a core part of our Cyber insurance products for carriers, so let us know if we can help you close the knowledge gap and help your agents and customers get protected. Education matters!

If you would like to read more on this topic, stay tuned for our next blog in our Cyber Education series coming in April. In the meantime, as always, reach out with any questions.

Endnote

1. See Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report at www.hiscox.com and Demystifying Cyber Insurance Coverage at dupress.deloitte.com.