The fear of small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) are well founded, according to CISCO’s 2021 Security Outcomes Study, with more than 84% of SMBs across Asia Pacific feeling their exposure to cyber threats, with a third feeling very exposed. In fact, 56% of Asia Pacific SMBs have suffered a cyber incident in the past twelve months with experience of such incidents, during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by 53% in the Philippines. “The thing about cyberattacks is that, regardless of your company size, the cost averages about USD$200,000 per attack because of data and system recovery costs, ransom in some cases, regulatory and media management fees, and customer monitoring & reporting support,” Jaybee Baranda, Executive Director & SVP of Philinsure, highlighted this as he explained how Philinsure has roadmapped how they intend to innovate and respond to emerging markets, such as the cyber insurance market, given the growing need of corporations for better coverage.
“I’m happy to say that, with partners such as discovermarket and Athesya, and our insurer partners, we have created a solution that responds to the price points, need for better coverage, cybersecurity and cyber threat prevention support which we call CyberSecure.”
As Gallagher’s Philippine representative and one of the top 5 insurance broking firms in the country today, Philinsure is one of the few brokers in the country that has moved more and more into emerging markets that may be difficult to place at this time, primarily because of the expressed and real need for protection and risk management through financial support of its customers.
Adopting an ecosystem approach to responding to customer’s needs, Philinsure’sCyberSecure platform is being launched this August with technology and e-commerce platform partner discovermarket from Singapore & Switzerland, and cybersecurity solutions partner, Athesya, from Paris, France.
“Everyone deserves insurance, everyone needs it, but not everyone can always afford it,” Group CEO and Founder of discovermarket Patrick Bühler further emphasized that having a marketplace hosted by Philinsure through their platform was an ideal solution to corporates scrambling to find the best option for their cyber protection needs. He also pointed out that the ones most at risk are the SMBs which have limited capacity to purchase expensive cyber security insurance compared to conglomerates and large enterprises. Fortunately, Philinsure is working with insurers to give the lowest prices especially to SMBs for as low as the cost of a motorcar insurance with ample cyber security coverage for a year.
CyberSecure is a total approach to providing corporations, large, small or medium-sized, to finding the best solution for their cyber security needs. “This is a milestone platform, unlike other product-focused platforms out there. Customers gain the ability to get a quote suited to the reality of their corporation in real-time, subject to specific parameters, and be issued their certification of coverage within minutes. Customers also get immediate help through our CyberSecure hotline.” Baranda pointed out that working with discovermarket and Athesya makes the platform more versatile as opposed to the often tedious and stressful process of accessing traditional cyber insurance. “We bring in the ability to have real-time scanning of current and potential cyber risks of companies that go on the platform as well as provide support to insurer partners of Philinsure in the event that a cyber insurance claim needs to be assessed.” Philippe Pedron, President and Founder of Athesya, further indicated that he has been working with the Philippine market for close to three decades. Having close affinity to the Philippines, he expressed Athesya’s desire to help future-proof Philippine companies, especially in the aspect of cyber security.