Report: Europe’s Insurers Ignore IT Infrastructure Risks When Pricing

More than 50 percent of European insurance companies appear to be ignoring the physical environment in which information technology infrastructure is housed when setting premiums, according to research commissioned by Global Switch.

Overlooking this fundamental factor means insurers may be setting premiums incorrectly, according to the research firm.

The research was conducted by Vanson Bourne, and questioned enterprises with 1000 or more employees across Europe about various elements of their business continuity plans, including aspects of their insurance and premiums.

Only 48 percent of UK businesses surveyed believe that the physical resiliency of their IT infrastructure environment is of importance to their insurer. This leaves 52 percent of UK insurance firms either not contemplating this when setting premiums or simply not highlighting its importance to customers, Boune concluded.

Of other European countries, France was the only exception. Here IT infrastructure resiliency appears to be a standard component of any business insurance policy – 74 percent of French businesses were conscious that this was an important factor for insurers when setting their premiums.