Lloyd’s network reset amid fear of cyber incident

Centuries-old insurance marketplace Lloyd’s, which recently made headlines over its upcoming cyber policy exclusions, has reset its network and systems amid a possible cyberattack.

“All external connectivity has been turned off, including Lloyd’s delegated authority platforms,” a Lloyd’s spokesperson was cited by The Record as saying. “We have informed market participants and relevant parties, and we will provide more information once our investigations have concluded.”

The systems reset was described as a precautionary measure after “unusual” network activity was detected by Lloyd’s.

Back in August, underwriting director Tony Chaudhry said in a Lloyd’s market bulletin: “It is important that Lloyd’s can have confidence that syndicates are managing their exposures to liabilities arising from war and state-backed cyberattacks. Robust wordings also providing the parties with clarity of cover, means that risks can be properly priced and reduces the risk of disputes.

“We are therefore requiring that all standalone cyberattack policies falling within risk codes CY and CZ must include, unless agreed by Lloyd’s, a suitable clause excluding liability for losses arising from any state-backed cyberattack… This clause must be in addition to any war exclusion (which can form part of the same clause or be separate to it).”

The requirement is effective from March 31 next year at the inception or on renewal of each policy.

It’s unclear whether the cyber exclusion is connected to the potential breach that is currently under investigation.