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Munich Re is working to strengthen its cyber insurance policies as fears of cyber-attacks mount after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Speaking to Reuters, Munich Re chief underwriter Juergen Reinhart said that the reinsurer is looking to update its cyber policies by adding clearer war exclusion clauses.
Most cyber insurance policies offered to firms cover the losses incurred due to business interruption and repair hacked systems after a cyber-attack, but these policies do not include war.
These grey areas created due to policy wordings leave insurers exposed to claims for cyber war.
Reinhart noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not a “classic cyber war”, but it was best to be prepared.
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By GlobalDataThe firm is planning to add new clauses to its direct cyber insurance offerings, Reinhart said, adding that the reinsurer has also asked its cyber insurance clients to do the same.
Last month, the German reinsurer joined peers in halting new business in Russia and Belarus and pausing the renewal of existing ones.
In the case of the Covid-19 pandemic, unclear wordings in the business interruption policies triggered several legal battles across the world over whether the pandemic was covered by insurance or not.
Reinhart said: “We have learnt this lesson as an industry in respect of the pandemic – how painful it is if you have unclear wordings. Our intention is to have very, very clear wordings…and avoid surprises.”
UK insurance buyers’ association Airmic chief executive Julia Graham said: “There has been a lot of uncertainty among Airmic members around war exclusions, especially for their cyber policies. The lack of standardised policy wordings on cyber in the market has certainly not helped things.”
