FICO Survey: Four Out of Ten Swedish Firms Don’t Have Cybersecurity Insurance

Stockholm — May 31, 2017

Highlights:
 

• 44 percent of Swedish executives surveyed say their firm has no cybersecurity insurance, compared to 40 percent in other countries surveyed
• Only 12 percent of Swedish firms surveyed have cybersecurity insurance that covers all risks
• 84 percent of Swedish respondents say insurers should do more to explain how they price risk
• Ovum conducted telephone surveys for FICO of security executives at 350 companies in Sweden and other countries

Swedish firms are increasingly protecting themselves with cybersecurity risk insurance, which transfers some of the financial risk of a security breach to the insurer, but still nearly half of firms have not taken out insurance. A new survey conducted by research and consultancy firm Ovum for Silicon Valley analytics firm FICO reveals that even among those that have insurance, only 12 percent said they have cybersecurity insurance that covers all risks.

FICO will host a Tweet Chat on the cybersecurity survey with Ovum tomorrow at 17:00 CET. Individuals are encouraged to participate using #cybertrends.

Even though the majority of firms surveyed have cybersecurity insurance, most say that the risk assessment process insurers use needs improvement. Just 16 percent of respondents think their premiums reflect an accurate assessment of their risk. Nearly as many, 22 percent, said they don’t believe the assessment accurately reflects their risk, and 4 percent said they don’t know how their insurance is priced. More than one in four respondents said that the introduction of an industry standard to benchmark cybersecurity risk would be valuable.

“The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces higher fines in cases of data breach, and this will affect Swedish companies,” said Dylan Jones, Country Manager for Nordics and Baltics at FICO. “One way of mitigating the risk is through comprehensive cybersecurity insurance. Without it, firms will be further impacted in the event that they are breached. At the same time, the cybersecurity insurance industry needs to do more to promote transparency and help firms understand how they price risk and how firms can reduce their premiums.”

Ovum conducted the survey for FICO through telephone interviews with 350 CXOs and senior security officers based in the US, Canada, the UK and the Nordics in March and April 2017. Respondents represented firms in financial services, telecommunications, retail, ecommerce and media service providers.

For more information, read our white paper: http://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/white-paper/what-the-c-suite-needs-to-know-about-cyber-readiness

About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 170 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

Learn more at http://www.fico.com

FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

About Ovum
Ovum is a market-leading research and consulting firm focused on helping digital service providers and their vendor partners thrive in the connected digital economy. Through its 150 analysts worldwide, it offers expert analysis and strategic insight across the IT, telecoms, and media industries. Founded in 1985, Ovum has one of the most experienced analyst teams in the industry and is a respected source of guidance for technology business leaders, CIOs, vendors, service providers, and regulators looking for comprehensive, accurate, and insightful market data, research, and consulting. With 23 offices across six continents, Ovum offers a truly global perspective on technology and media markets and provides thousands of clients with insight including workflow tools, forecasts, surveys, market assessments, technology audits, and opinion.

Ovum is part of the Business Intelligence Division of Informa plc, a leading business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group listed on the London Stock Exchange. https://ovum.informa.com/

Media Contact:
Felix von Stedingk for FICO
Burson-Marsteller
+46 (0) 76 546 12 41
Felix.vonstedingk@bm.com