Google Cloud brings cyber insurance program to Australia

Google Cloud has expanded its Risk Protection Program (RPP) to Australia and has onboarded new global insurance partners Beazley and Chubb.  

Google Cloud’s RPP combines cloud security insights with insurer expertise, aiming to help customers secure tailored, competitively priced cyber insurance – including coverage for AI-related and emerging threats such as quantum computing. 

Using the Cyber Insurance Hub, customers can generate real-time reports on their cloud security posture and share them directly with insurers to support faster underwriting. 

The RPP supports an early model of ‘cyber telematics,’ where real-time cloud metrics shape insurance pricing based on actual risk, not just static assessments.

Beazley and Chubb join founding partner Munich Re, which is extending its collaboration to include its specialty and SME arms (Munich Re Speciality and HSB). 

Google Cloud is intending for the program to serve as a catalyst for Australian enterprises looking to streamline insurance processes while meeting stricter compliance requirements under APRA standards like CPS 230 and CPS 234, the Privacy Act and other government regulations. 

Google Cloud’s head of business risk and insurance, Monica Shokrai, said 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,” she said.  

“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.” 

Shokrai said that with the expanded RPP, Google Cloud is 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,” she said.  

“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 recognized via competitively priced policies.”