Cyber specialist underwriting agency Emergence NZ Limited has launched a major upgrade to its key product’s policy wording.

The revamp to Emergence’s Cyber Event Protection policy, marketed to brokers as CEP-005, follows the launch of Emergence in New Zealand in 2023.

Emergence CEO Troy Filipcevic says cyber threats change so rapidly it is vital for the wording to be enhanced so insureds are protected against new and emerging cyber threats.

“We’re offering brokers, and their clients, additional coverage and have introduced free advisory services as part of the policy core to help insureds become better risks,” he says.

The advisory services for Emergence CEP-005 policyholders, provided by related company cyberSuite Pty Ltd, include:

    •    A one-hour free consultation with a cyber security analyst.

    •    Access to a range of template documents, including an incident response plan.

    •    Threat intelligence through 24/7 scanning of the insured’s internet-facing infrastructure

    •    Dark web monitoring.

A key policy wording change is removing the excess for insureds with turnovers of less than $25 million. “This is a major bonus for SMEs that may be hard hit if they need to claim on their policies,” Mr Filipcevic says.

“With the benefit of nine years of Australian underwriting and claims data, Emergence has been able to simplify the number of underwriting questions required to target today’s cyber exposures while its broad risk appetite remains unchanged.

“That makes it easier for brokers to transact and enables their clients to get quotes and coverage faster,” Mr Filipcevic says.

Other new features of CEP-005 include:

    •    Expanded coverage under Section A – Losses to Your Business (Business Interruption) to automatically include business interruption caused by a cyber event in an insured’s IT contractor’s business.

    •    Automatic inclusion of business interruption cover for system failures.

    •    Expanded coverage under Section C – Cyber Event Response Costs to cover insureds’ response costs if a cyber event occurs in their IT contractors’ or data processors’ businesses.

    •    An increased sublimit under the optional cover Tangible Property to the same limit as Section C – Cyber Event Response Costs.

    •    A new optional cover for D&O claims arising out of a cyber wrongful act.

 The Emergence broker portal has been updated to reflect all changes within the upgraded CEP-005 wording.

Mr Filipcevic said the dynamic policy wording changes signify Emergence’s continual evolution to meet the needs of an ever-changing market.

“The policy wording reflects feedback from brokers about what their clients need. Emergence has built a dedicated team of experts across Australia, and now in New Zealand, who are raising the bar in promoting cyber protection awareness,” he says.