Markets/Coverages: Coalition Launches UK Clawback Service to Recover Money Stolen in Cyber Attacks

Coalition, the San Francisco-based cyber managing general agent and cybersecurity firm, has become the first cyber insurance provider in the UK to launch a service dedicated to recovering funds stolen by cyber attackers.

The cyber insurer’s new UK “clawback” service is designed to intercept funds in the banking system before an attacker can move them. The program was recently proven a success with the recovery of £1.4 million for a policyholder.

“As far as we are aware, we are the first cyber insurance provider in the UK to offer this sort of service to clawback money in a funds transfer fraud event. While we can’t guarantee that we will be successful in getting all of the stolen funds back every time, we’ve now established a process that will enable us to act immediately, which increases our chances of success,” commented Laura Stewart, Coalition’s UK head of Claims.

“While Coalition has been recovering stolen funds for US clients for some time now, the UK banking system is different: it moves faster, is harder to navigate, and UK banks are often more reluctant to communicate with third parties,” Stewart added. “That’s why we’ve teamed up with a financial crime law partner. This relationship and new process give us the ability to communicate with the banks quickly and forcefully.”

In the example mentioned above, attackers stole £1.4 million in a sophisticated social engineering attack on a law firm in South England. The law firm had funds transfer fraud cyber insurance cover for up to £250,000, only a fraction of the total loss.

By partnering with a leading national law firm that uses its knowledge of and relationships within the banking system, the Coalition team was able to help prevent the banks from moving the stolen funds and recover the entire £1.4 million.

“We continue to add practical value to our Active Cyber Insurance product, helping protect SMEs from cyber events,” according to Tom Draper, Coalition’s managing director, UK. “Funds transfer fraud can be devastating for any business, and adding Coalition’s clawback service to the UK gives us another way to support our policyholders and brokers when their financial livelihoods are on the line.”

The clawback service is included as part of Coalition’s cyber insurance policies and comes at no additional cost to clients.

Source: Coalition