Insurers have paid about $US1 billion ($1.41 billion) of cyber claims over the past 13 years, according to Willis.

In a new report, the broker examines 5000 claims from 2013 to January this year, across 95 markets including Australia.

And Willis says it has found “cyber insurance is covering claims, with more than 95% of the average data breach loss and 90% of the average first-party loss being covered”.

Data breaches were the most frequently reported cyber insurance losses, and ransomware had the highest “financial severity”.

The average ransomware event lasted 25 days and the average loss was $US5.3 million ($7.49 million). The largest single loss exceeded $US500 million ($707 million).

Willis says average ransom demands have hit $US3.8 million ($5.3 million), against an average actual payment of $US1.5 million ($2.1 million).

Ransomware is affecting “organisations large and small. Every hour you can cut from ransomware discovery and recovery timelines can reduce total costs.”

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From the latest Insurance News magazine: Why Anthropic's Mythos model seems to be inspiring equal amounts of consternation and confidence in cybersecurity circles

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