U.S. Medium-Sized Businesses More Concerned About Cyber Crime Than Counterparts Around Globe

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 25 -- Zurich Insurance, a property-casualty insurance company, issued the following news release:

As Cyber Monday and the holiday shopping season approaches, cybercrime is a major concern among U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to Zurich Insurance Group's fourth annual global SME survey. Conducted throughout various countries, industries and sectors including in the U.S., Zurich's research illuminated the risks and opportunities that U.S. medium-sized businesses face today, including cyber crime.

While the media headlines often focus on large global brands that have been the victims of data breaches, more medium size businesses are realizing they are prime threats for theft of customer data, which perhaps suggests businesses in the U.S. feel less secure about digital or in-store payments technology compared to other regions.

According to the SME survey, fear of losing customer data to cyber criminals remains the most critical U.S. cyber crime risk (23 percent), followed by their own money/savings (21 percent). Business disruption (17 percent) was the third most critical risk as more businesses move their operations online and face the threat of website takedowns or viruses.

"As the holiday shopping season approaches, we see that U.S. businesses of all sizes are taking the threat of cybercrime more seriously," said Bryan Salvatore, president of Specialty Products, Zurich North America. "This is good news, because understanding the severity of risks is the first step toward creating resilience for businesses and their customers. While only three percent of U.S. businesses think they have proper IT protections and infrastructure in place, this self-awareness puts them in the driver's seat to address their cyber vulnerabilities.

"The after effects of cyber crime can be crippling, particularly to a medium-size business that may not have the infrastructure or resources in place to deal with an attack," he added. "At Zurich, we believe companies that identify all possible risks and have an action plan identified are those that will prove most resilient and will quickly get back to meeting the expectations of their customers."

Resilience planning involves a balanced, integrated approach of mitigation and potentially can include insurance protection. Zurich's recent 2016 Advisen Cyber survey of U.S. risk managers found that the number of survey companies that have cyberinsurance has climbed substantially over the years, from just 35 percent of companies in 2011 to 65 percent of companies in 2016--an 85 percent increase.

While concerns over reputation damage as a result of cyber crime increased from 10 to 15 percent, of the regions participating in the SME survey, small and medium sized businesses in the U.S. still remain the least concerned about this issue. At the same time, worries over malicious use of identity dropped from 16 to 12 percent year-on-year.

About Zurich's SME survey

Zurich's fourth annual SME survey was carried out by the research company GfK. The leaders of 2,600 small and medium sized enterprises (0 to 250 full-time employees) around the world were asked to identify up to three risks faced by their business in 2016, and up to three opportunities to grow. A representative sample of 200 CEO/owners, general managers, CFO/treasurers and COO/head of operations from each of the following 13 countries were included: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.S. This is the second year U.S. respondents were surveyed.

As one of the top insurance providers currently dominating the North American cybersecurity insurance market, Zurich has its finger on the pulse of the current cyber landscape and is invested in identifying risks and delivering solutions for the business community.

In addition to surveying small and media enterprises on their cyber attitudes, Zurich is involved in a 'first of its kind' public private partnership with the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a Cyber Portal to help businesses build resilience against cyber-related supply chain risks. In August, Zurich North America announced new cyber insurance solutions for Captives and in October released results of its 2016 Advisen cyber survey of U.S.-based risk managers on their cyber related attitudes.

Zurich also serves as a key contributor to the public sector dialogue around cyber insurance including presenting to the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) and IT/Communications Sector Quad and participation in Department of Homeland Security and Department of Treasury Roundtables on the topic. In 2015, Zurich provided expert testimony on the state of the cyber insurance market at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security in Washington, D.C. Zurich cyber specialists are frequent speakers at events on issues related to security and privacy; and the Internet of Things (IoT).

More information about Zurich's Security & Privacy solutions is at https://www.zurichna.com/securityandprivacy.

Additional cyber related literature can be found at https://www.zurichna.com/cyber.

About Zurich

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.

In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors through the individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Life insurance and disability coverage issued in the United States in all states except New York is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic life insurance company. In New York, life insurance and disability coverage is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic life insurance company. For more information about the products and services it offers and people Zurich employs around the world go to www.zurichna.com. 2012 marked Zurich's 100-year anniversary of insuring America and the success of its customers, shareholders and employees.