cylo

What cylo does

Cylo is an Australian cyber insurance provider targeting small and medium businesses with annual turnover under $100 million in Australia and, more recently, New Zealand. The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG), distributing its product as an authorised representative of IAG Agencies Pty Limited and acting as agent for CGU Insurance under a binder agreement. Only three team members are publicly named — a Chief Underwriting Officer, a Finance and Operations Manager, and a Market Lead — indicating a lean operating unit embedded within the larger IAG corporate structure.

The core product, branded Dynamic Defence, integrates three layers: Resist, combining UpGuard's outside-in vulnerability scanning with Cylo's proprietary inside-out rapid-fire risk questionnaire to assess and price cyber risk; Respond, delivered through 24/7 incident response partnerships with Crawford (claims handling) and Wotton Kearney (specialist cyber incident response, including forensic IT, legal support, and dark web monitoring); and Recover, providing first-party coverage (system damage, business interruption, cyber extortion, privacy breach costs, generative AI costs) and third-party liability (privacy breach, multimedia liability, breach of statutory duties). Upon binding, UpGuard's continuous monitoring service is activated for the policy term to maintain CyberStrong status.

Cylo's go-to-market is bifurcated by geography. In Australia, policies are sold exclusively through insurance brokers via a self-service portal (broker.cylo.ai) that supports quoting, binding, and portfolio management. In New Zealand, the product is available for direct online purchase through AMI's website (ami.co.nz). Revenue is generated through annual subscription insurance premiums priced on each business's risk profile. The company has adopted the General Insurance Code of Practice and operates under IAG's regulatory and capital umbrella with no independent external funding or public listing.

Name

cylo

Legal name

Cylo Australia Pty Limited

Website

https://cylo.ai

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cylo is an Australian cyber insurance provider offering integrated risk assessment, 24/7 incident response, and coverage for small and medium businesses with turnover under $100M, operating as an IAG subsidiary across Australia and New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cyber Insurance

NAICS

Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers (524126)

SIC

Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAJAOAN

SMB / Packaged Cyber Policies

Financial & Insurance/Insurance — Motor, Property & Casualty/Cyber Liability Insurance

SECONDARYFSAJAOAE

Network Security & Privacy Liability (Third-Party)

Financial & Insurance/Insurance — Motor, Property & Casualty/Cyber Liability Insurance

SECONDARYFSAJAOAF

First-Party Cyber (Breach Response, Forensics, Notification, Credit Monitoring)

Financial & Insurance/Insurance — Motor, Property & Casualty/Cyber Liability Insurance

Keywords

• Cyber insurance
• Cyber risk management
• SME insurance
• Incident response
• Vulnerability scanning

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cyber Insurance Premiums: Cylo generates revenue through the sale of cyber insurance policies to small and medium businesses. Policies are priced based on results from UpGuard's outside-in scanning and Cylo's proprietary inside-out risk questionnaire. The product covers first-party and third-party cyber risks including system damage, business interruption, cyber extortion, privacy breach costs, and multimedia liability. Policy pricing includes flexible coverage, limit, and excess options tailored to each business.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cylo provides cyber insurance policies targeted at Australian small and medium-sized businesses with annual turnover under $100M. The product combines UpGuard's outside-in vulnerability scanning with Cylo's proprietary inside-out risk assessment questionnaire for cyber risk profiling, and includes 24/7 incident response services delivered via Wotton Kearney and Crawford & Company. Coverage spans first-party risks (system damage, business interruption, cyber extortion, privacy breach notification) and third-party risks (privacy liability, multimedia liability, breach of statutory duties).

Product overview

Cylo is a cyber insurance provider offering a single unified product - Cylo Cyber Insurance - for Australian small businesses with annual turnover under $100M. Their Dynamic Defence approach combines three pillars: Resist (using UpGuard scanning and proprietary risk questionnaires to assess vulnerabilities), Respond (24/7 incident response via Wotton Kearney), and Recover (insurance coverage with First Party and Third Party cover options). The product portfolio includes core insurance coverage, the broker portal platform for quote/bind/portfolio management, UpGuard scanning services, and broker training resources. Coverage spans system damage, business interruption, cyber extortion, privacy breach costs, social engineering fraud, computer crime, and more.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cylo Cyber Insurance Cyber insurance policy for Australian small and medium-sized businesses with annual turnover under $100M, combining UpGuard outside-in vulnerability scanning, a proprietary inside-out risk assessment questionnaire, 24/7 incident response, and coverage for first-party and third-party cyber risks.
• Dynamic Defence Cylo's holistic cyber risk management product framework combining Resist (cyber risk assessment via UpGuard scanning and Cylo's risk questionnaire), Respond (24/7 incident response via Wotton Kearney), and Recover (insurance coverage for financial, operational, reputational, and legal consequences of cyber events).
• Broker Portal Self-service platform for insurance brokers to generate quotes, bind policies, and manage client cyber insurance portfolios for Australian SMB customers.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• UpGuardcoreTechnology or IntegrationCylo has partnered with UpGuard to provide outside-in vulnerability scanning technology for cyber risk assessment. UpGuard's scanning detects a business's cyber security risk profile in real time by analysing its URL. Upon policy binding, UpGuard's monitoring service is activated all year round to help businesses stay CyberStrong. UpGuard's report highlights vulnerabilities found and how to fix them.
• Crawford & Company (Crawco)coreTechnology or IntegrationCylo partnered with Crawford, a claims management company with more than 80 years of industry experience. Crawford provides 24/7 claims handling services to ensure small businesses receive answers, assistance, and action at a time when they are most vulnerable following a cyber incident. Crawford supports Cylo's commitment to helping customers recover quickly.
• Wotton KearneycoreTechnology or IntegrationCylo has partnered with Wotton Kearney, a specialist cyber incident response provider. Wotton Kearney provides 24/7 incident response services including first notification of loss (identification, forensic IT services, policy coverage advice), cyber incident crisis response with legal support and end-to-end claims management, and specialist loss adjusting, forensic accounting, dark web monitoring, and a panel of legal service providers. Claims hotline: 1300 582 407.
• Insurance Australia Group (IAG)coreOthersCylo Australia Pty Limited is an Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) business. IAG Agencies Pty Limited is the authorised representative through which Cylo distributes its products. The insurance issuer is Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Insurance. IAG is one of Australia's largest general insurers.
• AMI (New Zealand)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIn New Zealand, Cylo cyber insurance products are distributed through AMI's website (ami.co.nz), where customers can purchase directly online. AMI is a New Zealand-based insurer operating as part of the IAG group.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BizCover: Australian digital insurance platform enabling SMBs to compare and buy SME policies (including cyber) online — directly comparable in target customer, channel (online/SMB), and product breadth.
• CFC Underwriting: Specialist cyber MGA with packaged SMB cyber products — comparable in MGA model, packaged cyber offering, and continuous monitoring-driven underwriting approach.
• Emergence Insurance: Australian cyber-focused underwriting agency specialising in packaged cyber insurance for SMEs and mid-market — the closest direct peer in product, geography, and distribution model (broker-led).

Emerging players

• At-Bay: Cyber MGA using continuous security scanning to underwrite and price SMB and mid-market cyber policies — directly comparable tech-enabled underwriting model.
• Cowbell Cyber: Cyber insurtech targeting SMBs with continuous risk assessment and packaged cyber coverage — analogous product shape and target segment.
• Coalition: Cyber insurance insurtech combining external attack-surface scanning with active monitoring and incident response — comparable in Dynamic Defence-style risk-plus-coverage integration.

Others

• UpGuard: Cylo's core technology partner providing the outside-in vulnerability scanning engine — included as an ecosystem participant given its central role in Cylo's underwriting and value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• AIG Australia: Major multi-line insurer offering cyber insurance across commercial and SMB segments in Australia — broad incumbent competing for the same cyber budget.
• Allianz Australia: Major Australian general insurer offering cyber liability across commercial lines including SMB — overlaps in target segment and product but as part of a wide portfolio, not a specialist.
• Chubb Insurance Australia: Global insurer providing cyber liability products to Australian SMBs and mid-market — competes in the same cyber insurance category with broader resources.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about cylo