Recently Far Left activists targeted the insurance sector with some comms cables being cut to disrupt services. There’s a proud boys style report on the Morning Stalin-sorry, Morning Star media site here. Physical attacks on infrastructure, maybe even staff, are a potential risk in future as the Net Zero agenda is pushed back across the western economies over the next few years.
As the report notes, attacks were carried out despite the majority of insurers going along with activists demands to end cover for oil, gas or coal projects in future. As the Danegeld experience showed centuries ago, you get nowhere by placating some people. Maybe UK insurers should seize the current opportunities in the USA on oil and gas exploration and offer a quote?
Here’s a quick comment from Matthew Geyman, Managing Director, Intersys:
“The recent internet outage affecting London’s insurance market highlights a critical vulnerability in the industry’s infrastructure. While the immediate cause – a deliberate attack on fibre optic cables – was an unconventional physical threat, it serves as a reminder that operational resilience must address both physical and cyber risks holistically.
Most organisations have invested heavily in refining their Business Continuity (BCP) and Disaster Recovery (DR) plans, especially following the pandemic. By 2025, even highly coordinated attacks like this should encounter multiple layers of redundancy—ranging from alternative fibre routes to wireless and radio link backups—designed to limit the impact of severed connections.
In today’s digital-first landscape, continuity plans must also account for workforce flexibility. With remote access technologies and the ongoing digitisation of the London Market, many employees can seamlessly shift operations from one location to another, ensuring minimal disruption.
Ultimately, resilience is not just about recovering from incidents; it’s about proactively embedding robust systems and processes to minimise vulnerabilities and maintain business continuity. Insurers, as leaders in risk management, must demonstrate this ethos—ensuring they are prepared for both the risks we can predict and those we cannot.”
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