Cyber Insurance: AXA XL Program Gains Preparedness Services -

AXA XL, a subsidiary of global insurance and reinsurance company AXA, has added cybersecurity preparedness services to its cyber insurance program, according to Insurance Journal. The news comes after AXA XL and Slice Labs, an insurance technology company, earlier this month launched a cyber insurance policy for U.S. small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

AXA XL's cybersecurity preparedness services include:

Incident Readiness: Assess an organization's ability to respond to cyber incidents.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Readiness Assessments: Ensure organizations are in compliance with GDPR.
Incident Planning and Coaching: Help organizations plan ahead for cyberattacks.
Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance Training: Teaches merchants and other service providers about PCI Data Security Standards compliance.
Social Engineering and Phishing Awareness: Helps prevent data breaches and enhance an organization's security and compliance posture.

Organizations can select AXA XL cybersecurity preparedness services from several pre-qualified vendors, such as:

Cylance Consulting: Uses artificial intelligence-based technology to help organizations secure their IT environments.
Kivu: Offers remote cybersecurity tools and protocols.
NetDiligence Breach Plan Connect: Delivers an online incident response platform.

AXA XL customers can purchase complimentary cybersecurity preparedness services in conjunction with the company's CyberRiskConnect cyber insurance policy. Furthermore, AXA XL customers can access various data breach preparedness tools via the company's cyber insurance portal.

Demand for Cyber Insurance on the Rise

The U.S. cyber insurance market grew 32 percent year over year to $1.8 billion in 2017, insurer A.M. Best reported. In addition, the total number of cyber claims in the United States increased from 5,955 in 2016 to 9,017 in 2017.

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. firms reporting they have no cyber insurance fell from 50 percent last year to 24 percent in 2018, according to a survey of 500 security executives at 500 companies conducted by data analytics firm FICO. The FICO survey also revealed that 32 percent of U.S. firms said their cyber insurance covers all risks, and 26 percent indicated that their insurer based their premiums on an accurate analysis of their risk profile.