Beazley Expands Coverage for Social Engineering, Online Fraud Scams
Beazley has launched a new excess policy for the U.S. market that significantly expands the protection available to firms that fall victim to impersonation scams by fraudsters convincing employees to wire funds to external accounts.
According to Beazley, this and similar “social engineering” attacks have proliferated in recent years, costing some companies millions of dollars. Insurance coverage to address the risk has largely failed to keep pace with the larger attacks, typically providing between $100,000 and $250,000 of protection.
Beazley’s new policy provides coverage of up to $5 million in excess of underlying coverage of at least $250,000. The coverage is available on a surplus lines basis only.
Bill Jennings, crime underwriter at Beazley, said the coverage can follow the terms of another insurer’s primary cover. It can also be used to boost the social engineering cover currently available under its Beazley Breach Response cyber policy.
Beazley plc is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Beazley manages six Lloyd’s syndicates. Beazley’s underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd’s.
Beazley writes professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.