How insurers should deal with silent cyber

Not expressly addressing cyber risks in non-cyber insurance policies can lead to what is called “Silent Cyber” and is also known as “non-affirmative coverage”. This is when a policy does not explicitly exclude or include coverage of cyber-related incidents. The claim is that non-cyber insurance policies should consider cyber threats as another risk factor, and if they do not consider it, they should clearly exclude it from the policy.

It works like this: today, when everything is digital and connected, from the heating system to the connected car, cyber risks can impact all aspects of life and consequently can be relevant to other lines of insurance such as property, marine and general liability insurance, etc. For example, if a malware attack causes a store heating system to overheat and thereafter causes an explosion, shouldn’t the bodily injury and property damage be covered by the property insurance policy? What happens if the store does not have a cyber insurance policy? What happens if the existing property policy includes fire but does not mention a cyber attack as the cause of the fire?