Global insured losses from last week’s extensive IT outage are estimated to be between $400 million and $1.5 billion.
The disruption, caused by a software bug in CrowdStrike’s quality-control system, led to a worldwide computer crash affecting sectors from aviation to banking. This outage could become the largest single cyber insurance loss on record.
Despite the scale of the event,it does not match the worst-case scenarios that major insurers have prepared for.
Insurer Parametrix has estimated that the losses for Fortune 500 companies, excluding Microsoft, could range from $540 million to $1.08 billion. Major cyber insurer Beazley has stated that it will maintain its guidance on its combined ratio, a key indicator of underwriting profitability, despite the outage.
The global insurance and reinsurance industry is unlikely to face significant financial repercussions from the incident. However, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter suggested that insurers might also see claims related to directors and officers’ liability and property insurance, in addition to cyber insurance claims.
