A knowledge gap on cyber insurance could result in mis-selling and poor customer outcomes, according to a survey by the Chartered Insurance Institute.

The survey of the CII’s new generation underwriting group found that more than half of the insurance professionals who responded felt their knowledge of cyber risks was virtually non-existent despite their employer providing cover. Almost six out of 10 of those polled said they had not received any training about cyber risk even though they were involved with pricing or underwriting policies related to cyber risks.

Nine out of 10 insurance professionals stated they wanted to learn more about cyber risks, with a quarter wanting online training courses, one in five wishing to attend a webinar, one in five wanted to read a guide and one out of 10 stated they wished to complete a CII unit assessment on this subject.

Matt Connell, director of policy and public affairs of the CII, said: “The new generation group has shown there is a need to address the gap in knowledge about cyber risks. As well as improving the signposting of our existing training and guidance on this area, our President’s forum will examine what more we can do to support the profession meet the needs of consumers and businesses to have cyber cover in place.

“Clearly this is an evolving risk and continuous professional development is needed to ensure knowledge remains up-to-date on this area.”

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