The Incident Responder Enhancement Endorsement is designed to reimburse costs such as canceled vacations, child or elder care expenses, and corporate safety-related expenditures that may arise while response teams are managing breach incidents.
The coverage also includes crisis counseling services. These benefits are offered outside the limits of liability and carry no retention.
Rich Sheridan (pictured above), chief claims officer at Berkley Cyber Risk Solutions, said the endorsement was developed after the company’s claims team identified stressors experienced by employees responding to cyber incidents.
“The financial burdens faced by employees on the front lines of breach events can inhibit their ability to address the crisis without distraction,” Sheridan said.
The new endorsement builds on Berkley’s broader activity in the cyber insurance space, including its support for expanding access to cyber protection among small businesses.
Earlier this year, Berkley Re Solutions partnered with insurtech managing general agent Coterie Insurance to offer cyber coverage through Coterie’s platform. The offering provides smaller enterprises with tools such as incident response, forensic services, and preventative cybersecurity guidance.
In addition to direct coverage offerings, Berkley Re has developed infrastructure to support program administrators and managing general agents through its Turnkey Solutions division. This platform supplies reinsured solutions across multiple lines, including cyber, and is geared toward emerging distribution models such as insurtechs and niche MGAs.
The rollout of new cyber coverages by insurers like Berkley also comes amid growing concern over emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence. The use of AI in cyberattacks – including AI-generated malware, automated phishing, and deepfake technology – has expanded the threat landscape.
As the cyber insurance sector matures, some risk experts are also exploring broader financial mechanisms to manage risk. The Geneva Association has pointed to instruments like cyber catastrophe bonds as a way to transfer large-scale risk into capital markets.
These alternative risk transfer vehicles, still in early stages of adoption, could provide additional capacity for covering systemic cyber events that exceed the risk appetite of traditional insurance carriers.
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