When we analysed the landscape for insurers, one priority emerged as paramount: data security. With high-profile cyber threats and data breaches on the rise, the need for insurers to mitigate these risks are more critical than ever.
In our global survey, 65% of New Zealand insurers identified cyber security and data breach regulations as the top compliance and regulatory challenges they anticipated for this year. Amid such concerns, it was important to note the importance placed in leveraging external expertise to tackle the issue. Notably, 53% plan to hire compliance consultants or claims and risk management experts to enhance compliance measures, while 43% are exploring partnerships with claims management providers.
This brings us to a crucial point: the importance of finding a trusted partner.
Investing heavily in both data and cyber security is essential, but it can be undermined by vulnerabilities within your supply chain. Which is why it is important to ensure that your claims and risk management providers are equally committed to protecting sensitive information.
As the saying goes, “You are only as strong as your weakest link”. Here are three strategies to help ensure your partners are not that weak link.
1. Ask the right questions
Insurers have every right to assess their partners’ data security credentials. Whenever personal information, or indeed, any information with a third party, it’s critical to seek comprehensive answers to questions such as:
- What is your strategy or plan to address a data breach or cyber event?
- How do you ensure that data is encrypted?
- What measures do you have in place to duplicate data if necessary?
2. Invest in risk minimisation
Request insights into your supply chain partners’ risk minimisation strategies and systems. They should be able to demonstrate their commitment to data and cyber security through various initiatives such as:
- Implementing a Zero Trust approach for cloud security
- Developing incident response plans
- Conducting regular data and cyber security training programs
3. Partner with experience
At Gallagher Bassett, we take pride in our robust data and cyber security initiatives. In providing services to our clients, our IT storage and information security management needs to be as robust as possible. Gallagher Bassett is an ISO27001 certified organisation, proving our capability and focus on information security management. This capability is embedded within our core IT infrastructure in the gorm of highly secured networks, Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems, antivirus, web threat management, and ‘two-factor’ authentication. We house our production systems within a highly secure Australian Signals Directorate (federal government) certified data centre, ensuring maximum physical security and enterprise level controls.
Attaining ISO27001 certification is a great achievement given the importance of information security management and makes Gallagher Bassett the only claims and risk management provider to adhere to such standards.
These measures are vital to avoid becoming the next headline due to a data security lapse. We understand that insurers must hold their supply chain to the same rigorous standards as they apply internally. Which is why we invest in the best technology, people, and processes to safeguard our partners.
Contact us to learn how Gallagher Bassett can support you.
