PRODUCT: AmWINS social engineering crime insurance solution
COMPANIES: AmWINS developed the solution in partnership with AXIS Insurance and is offering it exclusively with AXIS.
BEST RATING: A+ (Superior)
AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available on an open-brokerage basis.
FOCUS: Scenario: An assistant receives an email that appears to be from their boss, requesting that a large sum of money be wired to make a purchase. The assistant knows their boss is about to close on a deal, and as the authorized bank user on the account, they wire the money.
Only after the fact does the assistant discover that the request actually came from a cybercriminal who had hacked into the boss’s email and watched how wire requests were made. How to recover all that dough?
Historically, traditional crime policies have not covered these types of claims—known as social engineering—“because the insured employee voluntarily transferred the funds,” explains David Lewison, senior vice president and National Professional Lines practice leader at AmWINS.
Meanwhile, cyber policies don’t always respond, either, “because social engineering losses often occur without the penetration of an organization’s network,” Lewison adds.
And that’s a problem, considering that because social engineering relies on human error for successful theft, it cannot be defended against through software or hardware—which makes it “one of the most difficult crimes to prevent,” Lewison says.
AmWINS responds to this growing risk with a new coverage solution designed specifically to protect insureds against losses arising from situations in which they are fraudulently induced into transferring money or securities in good faith reliance following a telephone, written or electronic instruction that purportedly comes from a client, vendor or employee.
The policy “is designed to protect insureds against social engineering losses while also providing education and risk mitigation services,” Lewison explains.
The new product complements AmWINS’s existing suite of professional lines and cyber coverage solutions, Lewison adds, noting that “the exclusive combination of employee training and comprehensive coverage makes this solution unique compared to other social engineering products on the market.”
COVERAGE DETAILS: Coverage contains precise policy language that explicitly addresses social engineering fraud losses. Limits are available from $100,000 to $10 million, and Am-WINS can secure additional capacity for higher limits from other insurers.
Insureds also gain access to free training about social engineering for employees through KnowBe4, the world’s largest security awareness training provider. Coverage also includes a significant discount on additional training and services offered through KnowBe4, such as phishing security test reports, phishing reply tracking and more.
UNDERWRITING: Underwriting requirements include an application with social engineering questions, either from AXIS or from another market; revenue size; employee count; and nature of business. To receive the training and education discounts package, submissions must come through AmWINS to get to AXIS.
MINIMUM PREMIUM: $3,000.
TARGET: “Organizations of all sizes, across all regions and in all business sectors face the risk of social engineering schemes from cybercriminals,” Lewison says.
COVERAGE TERRITORY: Admitted in 47 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and non-admitted in three.
CONTACT: David Lewison, senior vice president and National Professional Lines practice leader; AmWINS Group, Inc.; 212-858-8975..
Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.
