The British Insurance Brokers' Association has launched a directory to help close the cyber insurance protection gap by ensuring SMEs are pointed to expert advisers.

The directory, launched at the annual conference in Manchester this week, will allow businesses to search for a broker who has been through an approval process informed by industry perspectives and government guidelines to hold BIBA-accredited cyber insurance broker status.

BIBA says SMEs are targeted by hackers nearly four times more often than large organisations, but the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s latest survey shows only 10% of businesses and 5% of charities have a specific cybersecurity insurance policy.

“We hope insurance brokers will be able to help more businesses engage with them through this new service,” CEO Graeme Trudgill said.

“If we can increase the uptake of cyber insurance, it may help improve economic resilience against cybercrime events like those we have witnessed in recent times.”

The directory is available on the BIBA website and will be promoted in a new “Ben the Broker” national advertising campaign that will focus on the importance of cyber insurance to businesses.

The Ben the Broker campaign was launched last year and Mr Trudgill says it has “generated a better than expected 47 million chances to hear, see or read about the advice and choice that brokers provide”.

The new animation tells the story of two business owners – one who has cyber insurance from her broker Ben, and another who does not.

The campaign will run on TV, national radio, newspapers and online through Google and social media, targeting entrepreneurs, start-ups and the broader business community.