General Insurance

With increasing cybercrime and a push from regulators, numerous insurance companies have rolled out cyber coverage for individuals. These policies aim to shield individuals from risks posed by malicious actors during their digital interactions.

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Insurers launch covers against cyber fraud

However, the coverage has certain nuances, and cases such as digital coercion, where victims are tricked into transferring money to fraudsters, may not be covered.

Cyber risk insurance originally emerged as contracts aimed at businesses suffering losses from ransomware attacks, malware infections, or data breaches. Bajaj Allianz is one of the insurers now offering individual cyber coverage, with premiums starting at Rs 250 and ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000. Insured sums start from Rs 10,000 and extend up to Rs 1 crore. This type of insurance is still in its early stages, and the company is closely monitoring whether its pricing models are sustainable.

"The thinking is that individuals may also face risks similar to businesses. For instance, phishing scams targeting routine payment instructions or spoofing attacks could result in financial loss," explained TA Ramalingam, Chief Technical Officer at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. However, he noted that gross negligence, such as responding to fraudulent WhatsApp messages claiming to be from high-ranking officials, would not fall under the policy coverage. Similarly, incidents where individuals are tricked into making payments under the threat of service discontinuation are also excluded.

Non-life insurers' claim ratio falls

The net incurred claims to net earned premium ratio (claims ratio) for the non-life insurance industry stood at 82.52% in 2023-24, a slight decline from 82.95% in the previous fiscal, according to the IRDAI's annual report.