SIRC 2026: Accumulation a defining challenge for cyber insurance, Swiss Re’s Giv Kahrom says

November 4 2026 by

Accumulation remains one of the defining challenges of cyber insurance as losses are not necessarily constrained by geographical boundaries, according to Giv Kahrom, head of APAC cyber and regional markets at Swiss Re. 

A fundamental characteristic of cyber risk is that companies which appear independent from an underwriting perspective may actually share the same underlying technology dependencies. 

“Understanding these interconnections will be essential for the insurance industry as a whole, not only for cyber underwriters,” Kahrom said.  

“Many organisations may appear independent, but they often rely on the same cloud providers, software platforms, identity-management solutions, payment systems or communications infrastructure. As a result, a single failure can have broad consequences.” 

A single vulnerability, cloud service disruption or software supply-chain incident can simultaneously hit thousands of companies across multiple countries, he added. 

This is particularly relevant in Asia Pacific, where digitalisation continues to accelerate and economies are deeply integrated into regional and global value chains.  

APAC outlook

Asia Pacific remains one of the most promising regions for cyber insurance growth, with the region accounting for approximately 10% of global cyber insurance premiums, or US$1.7 billion in 2026, according to Swiss Re data.  

Considering the size of the region’s economies and the pace of digitalisation, there is significant potential to expand insurance penetration. 

“For reinsurers, the opportunity is therefore not simply to deploy additional capacity. It is to work with cedents to develop sustainable portfolios, expand insurance penetration and strengthen their understanding of cyber risk,” Kahrom said. 

“I see two major opportunities: bringing more businesses into the cyber insurance market and ensuring that existing buyers have adequate protection.” Giv Kahrom, Swiss Re

Large corporates increasingly purchase cyber insurance, but penetration among smaller businesses remains low, even though SMEs form the backbone of many Asia Pacific economies and face many of the same cyber threats as larger organisations. 

“The SME protection gap is therefore both a challenge and the single biggest growth opportunity for the market,” Kahrom said.  

Swiss Re sees its combination of global expertise and local market knowledge as particularly valuable in supporting this development.  

Clients increasingly value not only capacity, but also risk expertise, portfolio insights and services, where reinsurers can add significant value, he argued. 

Pricing trend

Swiss Re’s latest research shows global cyber rates have declined for four consecutive years, but the pace of reduction has moderated from approximately 13% in 2025 to 5% in 2026. 

“We are observing initial signs of stabilisation in the US, while many international markets remain highly competitive,” Kahrom said.  

Cyber threats continue to evolve, with ransomware, supply-chain attacks, AI-enabled phishing and geopolitical cyber activity remaining significant concerns.  

At the same time, underwriting quality, controls and risk management practices have improved substantially over the past few years. 

“Rather than predicting market turning points, I would emphasise that cyber remains a very diversified line of business. Market conditions differ across segments and geographies,” he said. 

“The industry’s objective should be growing the market responsibly, particularly by addressing underinsurance and protection gaps, rather than focusing exclusively on rate movements.” 

AI impact

AI is one of the most important developments shaping the future of cyber risk, but Kahrom distinguishes between the technology itself and the insurance exposures it creates. 

“I believe cyber and AI will increasingly become connecting points between different insurance lines,” he said.  

“For reinsurers, this creates an opportunity to combine expertise across cyber, property and specialty to help clients understand and manage these emerging risks.” 

Swiss Re’s current assessment is that AI is primarily amplifying existing cyber risks rather than creating entirely new categories of insured loss. 

For threat actors, it can accelerate vulnerability discovery, automate attacks and increase the sophistication of phishing campaigns. For defenders, AI can strengthen threat detection, incident response and cyber resilience. 

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