In Conversation with Risk & Insurance: Zurich’s Michelle Chia on the Past, Present and Future of Cyber Insurance

A digital growth spurt has led to ransomware pains and forced cyber insurance to mature quickly. But as Zurich North America’s Michelle Chia explains, rising premiums and more stringent risk selection are a step toward better prevention at the societal level.
By: | June 1, 2023
Topics: RIMS
Dan Reynolds interviews Michelle Chia at RIMS 2023

At the RISKWORLD 2023 conference hosted by RIMS in Atlanta this past May, Dan Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Risk & Insurance, sat down with Michelle Chia, head of professional liability and cyber for Zurich North America.

Chia has more than 16 years’ experience as a professional liability and cyber risk underwriter.

She detailed how the growth in the use of technology by so many companies has led to an ever increasing possibility that companies may encounter a ransomware attack or some other form of cyber incursion.

Having said that, the insurance markets for cyber coverage have undergone significant change in recent years.

As a result of what was qualified as a “ransomware epidemic” two to three years ago, the premiums for cyber coverage have gone up for many risks, and risk selection has become more stringent.

Chia stressed that cyber risk isn’t simply an insurance issue but a societal issue. She expressed the hope that there will be continued cooperation between the public sector and the private sector when it comes to predicting and mitigating the kinds of massive cyber attacks that, due to their scale, have to be qualified as uninsurable. &

The R&I Editorial Team can be reached at [email protected].