Insurance experts concerned generally as transport grapples with it and other issues
Insurance specialist Gallagher nominates cyber threats as an area of concern for 2021 in transport and logistics and in the economy generally.
The latest biannual Business Insurance and Risk Market Update, for the second half of the financial year, puts cybercrime in amongst five other headline issues and trends, the others being, global and local risk markets, financial lines, mergers and acquisitions, claims scrutiny, and the pandemic’s impact on mental health.
In a document authored by the company’s specialists, Roz Shaw, the former trucking company owner who is now its national head of transport and family business client management and an ATN columnist, points to cyber as an overarching theme but also touches on skill shortages, port congestion and financial overexposure as significant challenges.
Read Roz Shaw’s opinion piece on business risk mitigation, here
Cyber came to the fore recently, with a number of freight transport and related firms across modes, not least Toll and Containerchain but earlier container line Maersk amongst others, hitting headlines after criminal hackers exposed security weaknesses.
The incidents have acted as a red flag for mangers, Shaw notes.
“Transport industry participants are susceptible to cybercrime just like any other industry, particularly in the space of creditor payments going to the wrong accounts,” she says.
“Leading operators are not slow to recognise and respond to this risk.”
On the financial side, the risk of high volumes leading to adverse outcomes is present as the economy recovers from last year’s pandemic chock.
“Due to the high volumes of work being generated by online purchasing, operators ‘growing broke’ becomes an issue.
“There needs to be a balance of ensuring all new assets purchased are operating profitably from day one.
“Experienced operators would rather turn away work than grow their fleet for the sake of rubber on the road ahead of profit.”
The full report can be found here.