Cyber Insurance Controls That Prove Your Business Is Insurable
Concerns about ransomware, credential theft, and identity-based attacks are driving organizations to invest in cyber insurance at record levels. Nearly half of firms have already adopted identity-related cyber insurance, while many others are actively pursuing coverage.
However, insurers are no longer issuing policies based on intent alone. Today, cyber insurance coverage depends on whether an organization can demonstrate strong, measurable cyber insurance controls.
Why Cyber Insurance Controls Matter More Than Ever
Cyber insurance is widely viewed as a critical tool for managing cyber risk. Yet insurers are tightening coverage limits, raising premiums, and increasingly denying claims.
Underwriters now expect organizations to prove they deserve coverage. Without baseline cyber insurance controls in place, policies may be denied, restricted, or rendered ineffective during a claim.
How Cyber Insurance Underwriting Has Changed
In recent years, cyber insurers have become far more cautious. Rising attack volumes and escalating breach costs have strained the insurance market.
According to Check Point Research, global cyberattacks increased by 38% year over year. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 found that most organizations experienced multiple breaches, with average costs reaching $9.44 million in the United States.
As a result, insurers now closely examine security posture, identity protection, and control maturity before issuing or renewing cyber insurance policies.
Why Cyber Insurance Claims Are Being Denied
Premiums are rising, coverage is narrowing, and exclusions are becoming more common. In some cases, claims are denied entirely.
Research from Willis Towers Watson found that more than a quarter of data breach claims included policy exclusions that limited or eliminated reimbursement. In high-profile cases, insurers have denied claims when organizations misrepresented security controls such as multifactor authentication.
The message from insurers is clear: cyber insurance controls must exist, must be enforced, and must work at the time of an incident.
10 Cyber Insurance Controls Insurers Expect to See
The following cyber insurance controls represent a strong baseline for meeting modern underwriting expectations:
- Phishing-Resistant or Passwordless MFA: Traditional MFA is no longer sufficient. Insurers increasingly expect phishing-resistant or passwordless authentication to reduce credential-based attacks.
- Network Segmentation: Segmented networks limit lateral movement and reduce the impact of ransomware and intrusions.
- Reliable Data Backup Strategy: Immutable, offline, and regularly tested backups are essential for ransomware recovery.
- Restricted Administrative Privileges: Limiting endpoint administrative access reduces privilege escalation and attack impact.
- Ongoing Security Awareness Training: Employees remain a primary attack vector. Insurers expect frequent, documented training programs.
- Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): EDR and modern anti-malware tools enable early detection and faster incident response.
- Email Authentication Controls (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): Proper email controls reduce phishing, spoofing, and business email compromise risk.
- 24/7 Security Operations Capability: Insurers favor organizations with continuous monitoring through an internal or managed SOC.
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM platforms support threat detection, incident response, and compliance reporting.
- Secured Service Accounts in Active Directory: Service accounts are frequent attack targets and must be properly secured and monitored.
Strengthening Cyber Risk Management for Better Coverage
Cyber insurance policies increasingly require compliance with data protection and privacy regulations. Strong cyber insurance controls signal maturity, reduce risk, and improve underwriting outcomes.
By prioritizing identity security, access management, and next-generation authentication, organizations can improve their security posture, meet insurer expectations, and strengthen their ability to recover from cyber incidents.
As the cyber threat landscape evolves, so must your cyber insurance controls.