Cybersecurity Insurance Challenges for Public Entities

In the past three years, counties and local governments with cybersecurity insurance have seen their premiums increase to double or triple the rates they were paying in 2019.

At the same time, they found they were paying more for less: less robust coverage and new limits on the different aspects of their coverage, from ransomware to third-party credit monitoring services. They also had to fill out increasingly long and cumbersome applications and fulfill new requirements. And sometimes, despite these hoops, increased costs, and new limits, local governments or counties still may be denied the insurance they are looking for.

For municipalities that do not have cybersecurity insurance, incidence of cyber breaches are increasing pressure to acquire insurance as market conditions are making is more challenging to qualify for it. This document sets forth considerations for counties and local governments as they explore potential cybersecurity insurance options.