Insurance veteran Brian Duperreault yesterday told a major conference in Arizona that his Hamilton Insurance Group would not cover cyberattacks.

Mr Duperreault said: “At Hamilton, we’re taking a cautious position on cyber.

“We’re not writing it as a class until we’ve identified an approach that gives us comfort.

“We haven’t found one yet, mainly because there’s been a tendency to underestimate the interconnectedness of cyber risk.”

Mr Duperreault was speaking at the AM Best annual conference, hosted by the ratings agency in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The audience of 525 was the largest at the annual event.

Mr Duperreault earlier said that an EY survey had said top performing insurance companies were “already innovating with telematics, wearable technology and sensor data” and that the report had listed the competitive advantages of being smart about data.

These include more precise assessment of risk, faster product design, better customer connection, a revolution in claims handling and higher profits due to better targeting.

Mr Duperreault said: “The implications for what sensor data can do for our industry are remarkable.

“We’re talking about sensors on people, on cars, on ships and planes, in offices and homes, on GIS systems that provide data about climate — pretty much anything on the earth, or in the sea and sky.

“Understanding this voluminous data, finding correlations and eliminating bias can help us develop policies that are better written, more comprehensive and more relevant.”

And he said: “Being smart about data also helps us to come to grips with emerging risks, particularly a risk like cyber.”

Mr Duperreault added: “Access to this type of intelligence has some significant implications for our distribution partners.

“The role of the broker and agent has been evolving for years, but data analytics is one of the greatest threats — or opportunities — for the partners who help us develop and distribute our products.”