AdvaTech Solutions

Read the fine print… your Cyber Insurance Policy could be worthless.

Many small business owners breathe easier once they’ve purchased cyber insurance.

The assumption is simple: if ransomware strikes, the insurer will pay. But the reality is far more complicated. Increasingly, insurers are denying claims unless a business can prove it took specific preventive steps before the incident.

This is where many businesses get caught off guard.

Policies often include requirements buried in the fine print, from having secure backups to demonstrating a proper incident response plan. If you can’t show evidence of compliance, your insurer may argue you failed to exercise “due care” and refuse to pay.

The good news is that the requirements are not mysterious. Most insurers now expect businesses to have:

▶️Immutable backups: Copies of your data that can’t be altered or deleted by attackers.
▶️Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Especially on email and admin accounts.
▶️Documented incident response plan: A clear, written process for how your business will react to an attack.
▶️Proof of compliance: Records that these measures are in place and actively maintained.

Cyber insurance only works if you hold up your end of the deal.

Before you need to file a claim, read the fine print and make sure to document everything an insurer might ask for.

If you’re unsure whether your current setup would pass an insurer’s scrutiny, it’s worth reviewing. Better to know now than in the middle of an incident.