- 01Cyber insurance has tightened. Underwriters now evaluate specific controls — MFA coverage, EDR deployment, backup architecture, privileged access management — and rate accordingly. Renewals approached without engineering preparation produce surprises.
- 02Controls underwriters consistently ask about: MFA coverage across all remote access and privileged accounts, EDR deployment percentage and configuration, backup architecture (including offline / immutable copies), privileged access management with session recording, email security with phishing-resistant authentication, patching cadence and exception management, vendor and third-party risk management, incident response plan with documented exercises.
- 03Pre-renewal cycle: 90 days before renewal, complete the underwriter's questionnaire honestly and identify gaps, address gaps within reach in the remaining time, document compensating controls for those that are not, request a pre-renewal call with the underwriter to walk through engineering changes since the last cycle.
- 04When to broker more aggressively: if the renewed quote materially exceeds the prior premium without environmental change, get a second quote from a different broker. The market is competitive enough that comparison shopping rewards the time investment.
Cyber insurance has tightened. Underwriters now evaluate specific controls — MFA coverage, EDR deployment, backup architecture, privileged access management — and rate accordingly. Renewals approached without engineering preparation produce surprises.
The controls underwriters consistently ask about
- 01MFA coverage across all remote access and privileged accounts
- 02EDR deployment percentage and configuration
- 03Backup architecture, including offline / immutable copies
- 04Privileged access management with session recording
- 05Email security with phishing-resistant authentication
- 06Patching cadence and exception management
- 07Vendor and third-party risk management
- 08Incident response plan with documented exercises
The pre-renewal cycle
90 days before renewal, complete the underwriter's questionnaire honestly and identify gaps. Address gaps that are within reach in the remaining time. Document compensating controls for those that are not. Request a pre-renewal call with the underwriter to walk through the engineering changes since the last cycle.
When to broker more aggressively
If the renewed quote materially exceeds the prior premium without environmental change, get a second quote from a different broker. The market is competitive enough that comparison shopping rewards the time investment.