Despite the global cyber re/insurance market being dominated by the US, Asia is catching up with steady growth, fuelled by new regulations and increased understanding of cyber risk, according to global reinsurance brokerage Guy Carpenter.

According to Thomas Herde, head of casualty specialty for Asia-Pacific at Guy Carpenter, around 85% of global cyber insurance premiums are generated in the US, with uptake in Asia remaining relatively low.

However, Asian markets have begun catching up, with Japan as a notable example, with strong growth over the past two years. The trend is likely to spread to other Asian markets, accelerated by exposure to international regulations such as GDPR.

“Not every insurer in Asia wants to allocate resources and expertise to the development of its own cyber product,” said Herde. “Instead, it may be able to enter into a co-operative agreement with a so-called ’White Label’ or ’Turnkey’ cyber carrier who will provide product, rating and claim handling expertise/services along with access to the carrier’s world-wide emergency incident response service.

“Other insurers may prefer to develop their own products and will seek the proper sales channels and strategy to increase client awareness of their offering,” he said.

Furthermore, Herde said that insurers and clients will become more aware of the fact that national borders mean nothing to cyber criminals.