Businesses today need cyber insurance that keeps pace with evolving threats. Traditional policies often fall short, leaving companies exposed to lengthy claim processes, outdated risk assessments, and rigid coverage structures.
Descartes’ Parametric Cyber Insurance is built differently. We offer:
- Indemnification in days, not months or years, ensuring businesses recover quickly.
- A proprietary risk model, leveraging our exclusive database for precise underwriting.
- Tailored solutions, adapting payment structures to fit each company’s business model.
With Descartes, businesses gain a cyber insurance solution designed for speed, accuracy, and flexibility—helping them mitigate risk and recover faster.
Who Should Consider This?
Our solutions are ideal for European companies with an annual turnover of over €50 million—especially mid-sized businesses looking to enhance their cyber resilience.
Capacity
Between €1Mn - €5Mn, or much higher with alternative structures (e.g. captives)
Key Features of Our Cyber Shutdown Cover
Coverage is fully tailored to our clients’ needs to optimize premium allocation
- Comprehensive Cyber Protection: Covers crisis management costs and business interruption. Cyber liability can also be bought as an option.
- Flexible Liability Options: To balance affordability for price-sensitive clients while still meeting the expectations of other clients who value specific cover aspects.
- Fits Any Cyber Program: Available as primary, excess (XS) coverage, or integrated into more sophisticated risk transfer structures like captives or virtual captives.
- Covering the Uninsurable: Also protects against unconventional risks, such as contractual penalties and perishable goods losses, often excluded in traditional policies.
- Tailored Policies: Fully customizable coverage, including waiting periods, daily indemnity, and cyclical activity considerations.
Step 1: Incident Occurs
Call our dedicated 24/7 emergency line. Our experts will recommend emergency measures and let you know near real-time if coverage may apply.
Step 2: Crisis Resolution
Our experts support you until the full crisis resolution, including data restoration and rebuilding of systems.
Step 3: Submit Declaration of Loss
Provide required details within 30 days.
Step 4: Receive Payment
Claims processed swiftly, so your business can recover quickly.
Unmatched Benefits Powered by Parametric Insurance
While our Cyber Shutdown Cover is specifically tailored for cyber risks, it leverages the innovative principles of parametric insurance:
- Data-Driven Precision: Efficiently assess attack frequency and severity based on our proprietary database and unique modelling approach
- Speed and Simplicity: Transparent triggers and minimal documentation enable faster claim payouts.
- Fair Pricing: Rewards cybersecurity improvements.
- Minimal Technical Requirements: Focuses on critical factors, such as data backup quality.
- Swift Indemnification: Ensures payments are issued within days, minimizing downtime.
Helping Brokers Deliver Innovative Cyber Security Insurance Solutions
At Descartes, we partner with brokers to reshape cyber insurance underwriting and address emerging risks. Our broker-exclusive products, flexible commissions, and responsive service help you deliver innovative solutions to clients.
Our cover may be purchased as a primary cyber cover, or in excess of existing cyber programmes for increased protection of business interruption exposure.
We specialize in:
- Filling gaps in traditional cyber security insurance.
- Supporting customers struggling to find coverage or seeking alternatives.
Partner with us to:
- Differentiate your offerings in RFPs.
- Reach untapped customer segments.
- Co-design tailored solutions and grow your portfolio.
FAQs
What is insured by Descartes?
We provide compensation for the costs incurred from cyber intrusions:
1. Incident & Response (I&R) Costs: systems restoration, data recovery, legal costs, crisis communication, etc.
2. Business interruption: losses linked to the shutdown of the whole company, or business units identified by the insured (factories, warehouses, retail stores, ...)
3. Cyber liability losses (optional)
How is Business Interruption (BI) assessed?
The calculation of Business Interruption is tailored to the insured's needs. For example, we can consider:
• Daily revenue from normal business activities, e.g. plant production, the sale of goods and services, alternative revenue streams, etc.
• Costs specific to the insured’s business model: contractual penalties, additional costs incurred to maintain operations, etc.
How fast is the indemnification after activity shuts down?
As soon as the Incident & Response expert certifies that the insured event has happened, the insured knows in real-time if coverage may apply.
The parametric indemnification is calculated after the end of the activity shutdown and Descartes sends payment within days instead of months/years in traditional insurance.
How does Descartes support the insured when a cyber attack is detected?
Descartes brings fully integrated technical support and swift indemnification for financial relief:
1. Initial contact with I&R experts: The insured notices malicious activity within the IT system and calls I&R experts through the dedicated hotline available 24/7.
2. Event certification: I&R experts set up an incident resolution strategy and certify that the insured event has happened. The insured knows in real-time if coverage may apply.
3. End of shutdown certification: Once the incident is resolved and the company is ready to resume activity, experts certify that IT systems are online.
4. Parametric indemnification: Descartes calculates the parametric indemnity and sends payment within days.
5. Cyber liability indemnification (optional): Descartes indemnifies cyber liability claims separately, only if a cyber liability coverage has been bought.
Can we optimize coverage on premium allocations?
Descartes tailored solutions for all kind of cyber insurance needs:
• Our clients can freely choose to purchase cyber liability coverage – or not - depending on their insurance needs.
• Our solution can fit all cyber programs, and be sold as primary, XS coverage or within more complex structures such as captives, virtual captives, etc.
Interested in a solution ?
