Insurance companies now face more digital threats than ever before. Cyberattacks, data breaches, and system failures are no longer technical issues, they’re business disruptors. The once-clear boundary between technology and enterprise risk has blurred. To survive, insurers must rethink the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO).
The traditional model is fading fast. CIOs were once tasked with maintaining systems, while risk officers oversaw compliance and mitigation. That approach no longer works in today’s risk-laden environment. Technology underpins nearly every aspect of insurance operations. As a result, risk and IT are now two sides of the same coin. Organizations that continue to separate them leave critical gaps in their defense.
Forward-looking insurers recognize this shift. They no longer see the CIO as a back-office technician. Instead, they view this role as essential to enterprise-wide risk leadership. A transformed CIO operates at the executive level, guiding not only digital strategy but also resilience planning, governance, and incident preparedness.
The Business Case for an Evolved CIO Role
This shift is not optional. Cyber incidents have become the number one threat to global business for four consecutive years, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025. Insurers hold vast amounts of sensitive data and operate on complex digital systems. That makes them highly attractive to attackers, even those with robust security investments.
Recent breaches offer sobering lessons. CNA Financial, for instance, reportedly paid a $40 million ransom after a 2021 attack. AXA, one of Europe’s insurance giants, saw its Asian branches paralyzed by hackers who stole customer data and shut down services across multiple countries.
These incidents shook more than just IT departments—they forced C-suites and boards to rethink how they view technology. Risk no longer sits in a silo. It crosses every department, system, and customer touchpoint. Cybersecurity has moved from the server room to the boardroom. Insurance leaders must act accordingly.
Breaking Down Silos Between Tech and Risk
Many insurers still maintain a rigid separation between IT operations and enterprise risk. While understandable in legacy organizations, this structure is increasingly unfit for purpose. It fails to reflect how intertwined technology and business continuity have become.
A cyberattack may begin as a technical disruption but quickly evolves into a full-scale enterprise crisis. Customer data is compromised, operations stall, and trust erodes. When these events occur, it’s not just the IT department that suffers, it’s the entire organization.
In contrast, modern insurers build collaborative risk environments. They bring CIOs to the table with CROs, CISOs, and senior business leaders. Together, they assess vulnerabilities, prepare response plans, and shape enterprise-wide resilience strategies. This integrated approach creates agility and reduces blind spots.
The Cultural Role of the CIO in Risk Communication
The modern CIO’s role is no longer limited to infrastructure management. They must serve as a translator—someone who explains complex technical risks in clear, actionable language. This means helping the board and executive teams understand where vulnerabilities lie and what’s being done to address them.
It also means fostering a shared language of risk across departments. Finance, legal, operations, and compliance teams should speak the same language when it comes to cybersecurity and digital resilience. A CIO who drives this cultural alignment improves not just awareness, but also accountability.
Deloitte’s “Risk Intelligent CIO” model captures this well. It envisions CIOs as unifiers—leaders who bridge gaps between isolated risk programs. Under this model, cybersecurity, continuity, compliance, and operational resilience become part of one shared mission.
When Lessons Go Unheeded: Failures That Could Have Been Avoided
Recent industry failures have shown what happens when CIOs are excluded from risk strategy. The ransomware attack on CNA Financial didn’t just encrypt files—it triggered financial losses, operational disruption, and weeks of reputational fallout. Likewise, AXA’s breach led to service outages across Asia, shaking customer confidence and regulatory trust.
In both cases, CIOs were not fully empowered as risk leaders. These events underscore the consequences of reactive leadership. A proactive CIO, one engaged in cross-functional scenario planning and board-level discussions could have helped mitigate or even prevent some of the damage.
Insurers are in a unique position. They sell cyber insurance policies and evaluate digital risks daily. That knowledge should inform internal practices. A forward-thinking CIO should ask: if we demand these standards from our clients, are we applying them ourselves?
CIO Accountability Is a Signal to Regulators and Investors
The CIO’s role has expanded under the watchful eyes of regulators and financial analysts. Today’s compliance demands require strong encryption, robust reporting protocols, and well-documented contingency planning. Implementing these systems falls squarely on the CIO.
More than ever, rating agencies are scrutinizing IT governance as part of enterprise resilience. Investors want assurance that insurers can withstand cyber threats, recover quickly, and protect customer data. The CIO’s visibility and influence are crucial to meeting those expectations.
Insurers that treat technology governance as a risk function—not just a technical one—stand to gain. They inspire more trust, pass audits with fewer disruptions, and signal maturity to regulators.
CIOs and the C-Suite: Closing the Risk Alignment Gap
The time has come for insurance boards to embed CIOs deeply into enterprise risk strategy. This isn’t a matter of demoting other risk leaders. It’s about recognizing that no meaningful resilience effort can succeed without full alignment between technology and business functions. That means giving CIOs an equal voice in setting risk appetite. It means aligning IT spending not just with growth goals, but with security and continuity outcomes. And it means holding CIOs accountable not just for uptime, but for metrics like breach frequency, data integrity, and system recovery speed.
Governance structures must evolve, too. Just as CROs regularly present to boards on underwriting and solvency risks, CIOs should do the same for cyber threats and operational resilience. These conversations should be part of every board agenda, not reactive, but regular.
Conclusion: Technology Risk Is Business Risk
In the digital insurance age, separating IT from enterprise risk is no longer sustainable. Every product launch, every data transfer, every customer interaction relies on a secure, resilient tech ecosystem. When that ecosystem fails, the business falters. CIOs are uniquely equipped to lead on this front. They understand the infrastructure, the threat landscape, and the business needs. When empowered, they can help transform risk management from a reactive checklist into a competitive advantage.
The insurers who thrive in the next decade will not be those with the flashiest technology or the largest teams. They will be the ones who break down silos, build resilient cultures, and make the CIO a true steward of enterprise risk. Because in a world of rising digital threats, the best defense begins with leadership and it’s the CIO who must lead the charge.
