Our Blog & Insurance Related News
The password is dead – SMEs must step up account protection
As more attention is directed towards addressing cyber risk, more scrutiny is being given to how organizations are exposed to this risk and how can they deal with it. One particular area that needs attention is the cybersecurity of small and medium businesses, as...
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Cyber security – don’t be a sitting duck!
In July, City Power was hit by ransomware resulting in customers unable to purchase prepaid electricity or access its website. This has again put the spotlight on cyber security and highlight how few organisations, irrespective of their size, are safe from an attack....
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How insurance is responding to climate change?
A senior insurance figure says climate change is forcing the industry to revise its models as it battles to create solutions which suit the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Speaking to Insurance Business, Andre Martin – head of innovative risk...
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Growth in Fintech Drives Growth in Cyberattacks
Africa’s Fintech sector is booming! According to reports, Africa’s Fintech ecosystem has surged 60% in the last two years and the continent’s Fintech firms have grown to 491 from 301 in 2017, with $132.8 million raised in 2018, making last year the sector’s best year...
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Employee injuries pose massive risks for businesses
Regardless of safety measures, the risk of an employee getting injured at work is ever-present in any business. Indeed, recent research by SHA Specialist Underwriters has shown that nearly a third of corporations had to deal with the serious injury or death of an...
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Cyber threat intelligence offers proactive defence against today’s complex threats
In an increasingly complex threat landscape, littered with determined adversaries and sophisticated threats, organisations can’t defend themselves if they don’t know what threats they are facing. “If the last few years have shown us anything, they’ve shown that even...
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Cannabis: The implications for insurance
The legalisation of the private cultivation, possession and use of cannabis in South Africa, following a landmark judgment handed down on September 18, 2018 by the Constitutional Court, has had the effect of changing the law, which will undoubtedly require...
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Remote-jamming, don’t become a statistic
The ever-present warning signs of remote-jamming at shopping malls, petrol stations and roadside stalls is a constant reminder of the very real threat of crime in South Africa. Perpetrators of car break-ins are rarely caught, making it one of the most common crimes in...
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FM Global warning – cyber insurance may create false sense of security
New research by FM Global has suggested that cyber insurance may create a false sense of security among senior financial executives at some of the world’s major companies. The FM Global-commissioned study found that seven in 10 senior financial executives at the...
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Violent protests must end, or SA risks being stuck in poverty
South Africa risks being trapped in a cycle of poverty and destruction if violent service delivery protests are allowed to continue unabated. Unless civil society, labour and government can find new ways of engaging and solving problems, the country will continue to...
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The top risks posing a threat to insurers, according to Swiss Re
From data privacy regulations to 5G technology implementation, a combination of notable slow-burning risks likely to impact the re/insurance industry over the long-term and new risks whose loss-making potential is often short-term have landed on Swiss Re’s SONAR...
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When climate change becomes the norm, and its impact on insurance
Heat waves, droughts, severe flooding, fires and other effects of climate change are no longer a rarity, but are becoming the norm. And the resultant impact on the insurance industry is huge. Globally, there has been a dramatic rise in both the severity and...
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Cyber attacks cost $45bn in 2018 as ransomware hits hard
International study finds that hi-tech criminals are getting more sophisticated in targeting their victims Washington — An estimated 2-million cyber attacks in 2018 resulted in more than $45bn in losses as city councils worldwide struggled with ransomware and other...
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Deepfake videos – the next cyber threat for corporate clients?
Deepfakes are fake videos or audio recordings that are made to look and sound authentic with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Deepfake technology is readily available and is rapidly improving. Pretty much anyone can create a deepfake to promote...
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How traditional insurance companies can stay ahead as the technology pendulum swings
While the insurance industry might not be full of Amazons and Apples, the state of innovation in the sector isn’t anything to scoff at, even outside of the investment in insurtechs that smashed records in Q1 2019. “It’s really exciting that for an industry that’s...
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Data costs are preventing African consumers from taking full advantage of the crypto economy
Cryptocurrencies offer a financial lifeline to people excluded from the formal financial economy and to those living in oppressive political or economic regimes. Digital private currencies allow individuals to move their money across national borders with minimal...
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Why 5G spells danger for insurers
Swiss Re’s annual analysis of emerging risks with the potential to have major impacts on insurers includes some of the usual suspects – climate change and the state of the global economy among them. But the list also contains a new entrant currently at the centre of...
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Risk management now ‘moving centre stage’
An Airmic member survey has revealed risk management is becoming the profession to watch in the insurance industry. The survey, which was launched at the Airmic member conference last week in Harrogate, found that 29% of Airmic members have responsibility for risk...
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Report reveals SA businesses at serious risk of facing legal action
The legal risks for organisations have grown exponentially in recent years, with a new report – the SHA Annual Specialist Risk Review 2019 - revealing that between 2016 and 2018, the average value of liability claims inflated more than 100% and that the total value of...
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Beazley reports surge in ransomware attack notifications
It looks like perpetrators of ransomware attacks are not letting up. If Beazley’s latest breach insights report is anything to go by, the message is clear and simple: the number of attacks and the average ransom demand is only getting bigger. In fact, the Beazley...
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