Google Cloud expands cyber insurance programme in Australia

Google Cloud has expanded its Risk Protection Program (RPP) to Australia and onboarded new global insurance partners Beazley and Chubb, amid heightened cyber threats and evolving regulatory demands in the local insurance industry.

The expansion comes as Australian organisations face a surge in cyber attacks and growing scrutiny under new regulations, especially with updated measures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) such as CPS 230 (Operational Risk Management) and CPS 234 (Information Security).

The Risk Protection Program aims to help businesses manage and transfer cyber risk in their cloud environments, combining cloud security insights with insurer expertise to offer tailored and competitively priced cyber insurance. The program now includes coverage for artificial intelligence-related and emerging risks such as those posed by quantum computing.

Through its Cyber Insurance Hub, the RPP allows customers to generate real-time reports about their security posture on Google Cloud. These reports can be shared directly with insurers to streamline the underwriting process and support data-driven pricing, marking a shift towards a "cyber telematics" model where live cloud security metrics shape insurance premiums based on actual risk levels.

The onboarding of Beazley and Chubb joins founding partner Munich Re, which is extending its involvement to include its specialty and SME-focused arms, Munich Re Speciality and HSB. This collaboration aims to offer wider access to tailored cyber insurance and make the program available to organisations of varying sizes internationally.

"Giving Google Cloud customers a wider array of choices for tailored cyber insurance, we're excited to welcome Beazley and Chubb, two of the world's largest cyber-insurers, as new program partners. We are also expanding our collaboration with our founding partner, Munich Re, through onboarding Munich Re Specialty and their SMB-focused subsidiary HSB," the company stated in its blog announcement.

Frank Caserta, Chief Information Security Officer at LiveRamp, said: "Google Cloud's Risk Protection Program has streamlined our insurance underwriting process while providing valuable insight into quantitative risks through standardised reporting, enhanced compliance monitoring, and simplified reporting to our insurance provider. This partnership underscores our shared commitment to safeguarding trust and ensuring the responsible use of data."

Justinian Fortenberry, Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President of Engineering at Etsy, highlighted the efficiency of the program: "We were early adopters of RPP and it's been a great change in our process. The program has helped us have a more efficient renewal ... I just go and I press one button and it goes off to insurance partners. Because I know what data the insurance underwriters are going to be using, I can proactively respond to any questions and therefore cut down time dramatically. To organisations looking to adopt RPP, I would say do it. It makes your insurance renewal process so much more efficient."

Monica Shokrai, Head of Business Risk and Insurance at Google Cloud, commented on the state of the market and the goals of the expanded program: "The cyber insurance market is still maturing, particularly with regards to how metrics are used to assess risk. Many CISOs we talk to are frustrated by the insurance procurement process, often feeling like the questions being asked on insurance applications don't accurately assess their risk, despite insurers investing in continuously improving their process. There's also a general concern that cyber insurers can't yet adequately price cyber insurance as a whole, which can contribute to market swings and concerns over rising rates after a few big events.

With our expanded Risk Protection Program, we're working hand-in-hand with insurers to change that. By combining real-time cloud security insights with insurer expertise, we can improve risk visibility, enable smarter underwriting – and ultimately, offer broader and more affordable protection to our customers.

At Google, we're committed to helping customers improve their cyber security posture. Through our shared fate approach, we partner with customers to help reduce their risk. Our Risk Protection Program then rewards them for their stronger security posture. This is an opportunity for organisations to use the cyber insurance procurement process as a catalyst to drive better security hygiene, while also ensuring their efforts are recognised via competitively priced policies."

In an additional effort to simplify insurance processes, Beazley will offer accelerated onboarding for Google Cloud digital native customers by replacing traditional complex applications with a single-page attestation, enabling faster access to insurance tailored to modern cloud-native organisations.

Enhancements to the RPP also include explicit AI insurance coverage for Google-related AI workloads, and Chubb's participation brings insurance offerings that address potential threats posed by future quantum computing developments. Underwriting clients of Munich Re will also gain access to Mandiant's expertise in cyber threat intelligence, incident preparedness, and technical support.

The roll-out of the expanded RPP is expected to assist Australian organisations in streamlining their insurance procurement processes and improving security practices while helping them to meet new regulatory compliance requirements. The phased global expansion aims to make the program accessible to a broader range of businesses beyond Australia.