Cyber insurers could be overlooking an important indicator of claims risk by relying too heavily on traditional firmographic measures such as revenue, industry and location, according to new research from Gallagher Re and cyber risk specialist KYND.
The KYND analysis, conducted with Gallagher Re, examines whether the scale and complexity of an organisation’s internet-facing technology can help insurers predict cyber claims more effectively. The research suggests digital footprint data can provide an additional risk signal beyond traditional underwriting information.
Cyber underwriting has traditionally combined firmographic information with externally observable security indicators to assess risk. However, Gallagher Re’s analysis suggests that these measures do not fully capture the complexity of an organisation’s digital estate, particularly as businesses operate across increasingly distributed technology environments.
The research analysed claims and firmographic data from Gallagher Re alongside KYND’s technographic observations covering more than 63,000 insured organisations. It explored whether external digital footprint data could improve risk selection while reducing the reliance on lengthy questionnaires for brokers and policyholders.
Two modelling approaches were tested. The first relied solely on technographic information, while the second combined technographic and firmographic data. Although the technographic model demonstrated predictive value independently, the combined approach delivered the strongest results, suggesting technical data can complement rather than replace traditional underwriting information.
The strongest indicators were linked to the scale and complexity of an organisation’s online infrastructure. The number of distinct internet service providers was the most significant contributor, followed by email provider diversity, externally exposed services and the overall size of an organisation’s IP footprint.
The findings indicate that organisations with more complex and distributed digital estates were more likely to experience cyber claims. Importantly, this relationship remained broadly consistent across different revenue bands, suggesting digital complexity can provide insight beyond simply measuring the size of a business.
The research could have implications for how insurers use InsurTech and external data to assess cyber exposure. Rather than treating revenue and industry as proxies for risk, insurers could increasingly incorporate observable characteristics of an organisation’s digital footprint into underwriting and portfolio management.
Gallagher Re global head of cyber security Ed Pocock said, “We’ve spent a lot of time in cyber asking whether the doors are locked, but we’ve spent much less time asking how big the building is. Security indicators matter, as do measures like revenue and industry, but they do not capture the size and complexity of an organisation’s internet-facing footprint.
“This work with KYND suggests that understanding an organisation’s digital footprint carries its own signal for claim frequency, beyond those established factors. We’re only scratching the surface of what this data can tell us, but it gives us a useful, evidence-led starting point for understanding cyber exposure better.”
KYND co-founder Melanie Hayes said, “For years, cyber underwriting has relied heavily on firmographic indicators. While these remain important, they do not always reflect the scale and complexity of an organisation’s digital footprint.
“Understanding an organisation’s external digital estate can provide a valuable additional lens on cyber exposure, as two companies with similar revenues may have vastly different internet-facing environments, creating very different risk profiles.
“As the cyber insurance market continues to mature, data-driven insights into digital footprint and complexity will become increasingly important in helping insurers make more informed underwriting decisions and improve risk selection.”
The findings point towards a broader role for technographic data in cyber insurance as carriers seek to improve risk selection without adding friction to the underwriting process. The KYND analysis provides evidence that understanding the external digital footprint could give insurers another way to assess cyber exposure and identify differences between organisations that traditional firmographic data may overlook.
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