Arch aiming to be ‘one of the best-known brands’ in London market cyber

Arch Insurance International has ambitions to become “one of the best-known brands” in London market cyber.

Marcus Breese, Arch Insurance’s head of cyber and technology E&O, told CyberInsurer.com: “We’ve made excellent progress and there’s lots of exciting work to do.  Our ambition is to be one of the recognised leaders in the London Market in the next couple of years. I see no reason why we can't achieve that.”

Although Arch Insurance International’s gross written premium targets are confidential, Breese suggested they would be large enough to rival some of the better-known names in the industry.

The company currently writes cyber on a lead or follow basis, with maximum line sizes of $20m.

In terms of sectors, Breese is interested in heavily-regulated sectors like financial institutions and healthcare, which are used to dealing with data. The regulatory landscape in which they operate means they have strong governance around privacy, Breese explained. 

However, Arch will also consider “well-governed” companies in most sectors. 

To date, the company’s immediate focus is has been on English-speaking territories, particularly the US, UK, Australia, as well as the Nordic regions where they are typically happy to use English language wordings.

Arch Insurance International is planning to expand in the cyber sector at a time of high demand from clients but some trepidation from carriers concerned about systemic exposures and whether the risk is correctly priced.

Cyber insurance has estimated annual premiums of $8bn to $10bn, which is projected by industry experts to reach up to $22.5bn by 2025. The US currently makes up around half of the total market by premium.

However, reinsurance capacity remains scarce, with all four major European reinsurers taking a “wait and see” approach to the peril.

In US primary cyber insurance, average rate increases had steadily declined to 54% by July, down from average increases of 133% in December.

Confidentially, some brokers have told CyberInsurer.com they are budgeting for rate decreases in 2023.