U.S. cyber insurers in 2025 reversed a couple of years of decline in direct written premiums to post growth of 11% but, according to Fitch Ratings, there are some underwriting concerns brought on by developments with artificial intelligence.
Fitch said Anthropic’s Mythos model has raised eyebrows in the financial and cybersecurity worlds. In the short to medium term, vulnerabilities will probably outnumber patches as the artificial intelligence tool works on cyber threat intelligence and incident response.
“AI is particularly disruptive to cyber risk because traditional vulnerability analysis was labor-intensive and offered limited financial upside for researchers, a gap AI now fills at scale and speed,” said Fitch in its brief on the cyber marketplace on Feb. 15. “This lowers barriers for attackers, expands third-party risks, and could materially increase attack volume.”
Growth in the cyber market was mostly driven by volume, with policies-in-force up 35% to offset soft aggregate pricing. This, said Fitch, indicates a great awareness among buyers of cyber exposures, as well as a competitive underwriting environment. Larger companies are still more likely to have cyber insurance protection while smaller companies lag behind.
Yet, Fitch said, demand overall has “strengthened as boards and management teams recognize that cyber events can disrupt operations, trigger legal liabilities, and impair revenue even when direct financial losses are limited.”
Meanwhile, insurers have and will continue to assess and adjust contract language while integrating cybersecurity assessments into underwriting. Policy wordings related to war exclusions, silent cyber, business interruption, and contingent losses “will be critical,” added Fitch. A more detailed look at the cyber market is expected this summer, said the credit-rating agency.
Topics
InsurTech
Data Driven
Cyber
Artificial Intelligence
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