Cyber insurance helps cover costs after an attack, such as investigation, recovery, legal advice, notification, and business interruption. But insurers have tightened their requirements.

Controls insurers commonly expect

– Multi-factor authentication on email, remote access, and administrator accounts

– Endpoint detection and response (EDR) rather than basic antivirus

– Tested backups, with offline or immutable copies

– Regular patching of systems and applications

– Email security filtering

– Security awareness training for staff

– A written incident response plan

– Privileged access management: limited and separate admin accounts

– Network protections: firewalls and segmentation

– Vendor risk management in some cases

The application matters

Answers on the application form are taken seriously. If you claim MFA everywhere and it turns out to be missing, a claim could be denied or the policy canceled. Have your IT provider review the answers, and be accurate.

What policies usually include

– Incident response and forensics costs

– Data restoration

– Business interruption

– Legal and regulatory costs

– Notification and credit monitoring

– Ransom or extortion coverage (often with limits)

Common exclusions and limits

– Prior known incidents

– Failure to maintain required controls

– Sub-limits on ransomware or social engineering fraud

– Acts of war or state action, with varying wording

– Improvements to systems after an incident

Tips

1. Compare coverage, not only price

2. Understand the notification steps. Many policies require calling the insurer first.

3. Know your waiting periods and limits

4. Reassess coverage as the business grows

5. Treat insurance as a safety net, not a substitute for security

DBR Soft can help you meet insurer requirements and answer questionnaires accurately. Contact us for more information.