UK Cyber Insurance Payouts Jump 230% Amid Surge in Attacks

Cyber insurance insurers in the United Kingdom paid 197 million pounds (about $259 million) in claims from businesses last year.

The figure is up 230% from 2023, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said in a Monday (Nov. 10) press release, citing data collected from within the industry.

“Cyber insurance is proving to be indispensable in today’s digital economy, protecting businesses from costly breaches, ransomware and email compromise while actively helping them prevent attacks and boost resilience,” the release said. “With cyber threats escalating, demand for protection surged in 2024, [as] 17% more policies were taken out than the previous year, presenting clear evidence that U.K. businesses are prioritizing protection against evolving digital risks.”

Malware and ransomware accounted for 51% of all claims, compared to 32% of claims in 2023. That shows “how increasingly sophisticated digital threats are causing more extensive damage, leading to higher payouts,” along with the support insurance provides when these attacks disrupt business, according to the release.

“Cyber insurance is more than just a financial safety net,” Jonathan Fong, head of general insurance policy for the ABI, said in the release. “The right policy not only supports businesses in the aftermath of an incident but can also help prevent attacks through access to expert advice, threat monitoring and incident response planning. With cyber threats continuing to grow in scale and sophistication, it needs to be a critical component of every organization’s modern risk management strategy.”

In other cybercrime news, PYMNTS wrote last week about criminals’ entry into a “most physical corner of global commerce, the freight economy.”

As trucks and trailers get smarter, so do the criminals keeping track of them via supply chain dashboards, network vulnerabilities and remote access tools. And the criminals aren’t only targeting sensitive documents or data. They are hijacking actual freight.

This is a 21st-century version of the centuries-old threat of cargo theft, with the National Insurance Crime Bureau estimating that criminals are making off with $35 billion in cargo theft losses per year in the U.S. alone, thanks to tactics such as social engineering.

“These aren’t small grease-under-the-fingernails heists,” PYMNTS wrote Thursday (Nov. 6). “They are often highly orchestrated operations, timed around high-volume periods like holiday weekends and fourth-quarter surges when consumer goods are most in transit. Yet what’s changing is the battleground. Instead of slipping into truck yards late at night, the attackers slip into the digital workflows that govern the supply chain.”

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