Cyber insurers now deny claims and cancel policies when businesses can't prove they had required controls in place. Securafy implements, maintains, and documents every control your carrier requires — so your coverage holds when you need it most.
Just five years ago, cyber insurance was relatively easy to obtain with minimal security requirements. That era is over. After suffering catastrophic losses from ransomware attacks — including multi-million-dollar payouts to Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods, and dozens of SMB clients — insurers fundamentally restructured their underwriting standards in 2021–2022 and have continued tightening ever since.
Today, every major carrier requires documented technical controls before issuing a policy. They also audit those controls at renewal and use forensic investigations after incidents to verify the controls were actually in place and functioning. Claims are denied when controls were missing, disabled, or misrepresented on the application.
For Ohio businesses, the stakes are high. The average cost of a ransomware recovery now exceeds $1.85 million (Sophos State of Ransomware 2024) — far beyond what most SMBs can absorb without insurance. But a policy without proper controls is worth nothing when your servers are encrypted and your business is down.
"A cyber insurance policy you can't claim on is not insurance — it's a false sense of security. Controls first. Coverage second. Claims-defensible always."
The following controls are now standard requirements across AIG, Chubb, Coalition, Corvus, CNA, Hartford, Travelers, and most other major cyber insurance carriers. Missing any of these can result in denied coverage, claim denial, or policy cancellation.
MFA is required on all email accounts, remote access (VPN, RDP), privileged admin accounts, and cloud services. Carriers verify MFA coverage during underwriting and post-incident forensics. A single privileged account without MFA can void coverage for a breach that exploits it.
Required by all carriersBasic antivirus is no longer sufficient. Carriers require behavioral EDR — software that detects and responds to threats in real time, not just signature-based malware. Securafy deploys enterprise-grade EDR on every managed endpoint as standard practice.
Required by all carriersBackups must be isolated from the primary network (offline, air-gapped, or immutable cloud storage) AND regularly tested for restorability. Ransomware specifically targets connected backup systems. Carriers require documented backup testing — not just the existence of backups.
Required by all carriersA documented, tested incident response plan (IRP) with defined roles, communication protocols, containment procedures, and notification requirements. Carriers ask for this on every application and use it post-incident to evaluate whether you followed your own procedures.
Required by all carriersSeparation of administrative and standard user accounts, just-in-time privileged access, and logging of all privileged activity. Attackers use stolen admin credentials in 74% of ransomware incidents. PAM limits blast radius when credentials are compromised.
Required by most carriersEmail authentication protocols that prevent domain spoofing and phishing. Business Email Compromise (BEC) causes more total financial loss than ransomware. Carriers increasingly require DMARC enforcement (not just monitoring) to qualify for BEC coverage.
Required by most carriersDocumented process for identifying, prioritizing, and remediating security vulnerabilities — including regular patching, asset inventory, and annual third-party penetration testing. Carriers want proof that known vulnerabilities are tracked and remediated within defined timeframes.
Required by most carriersDocumented, recurring security awareness training for all employees — including phishing simulation results. Over 90% of successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email. Carriers use training completion rates as a key underwriting signal for social engineering coverage.
Required by most carriersThird-party security assessment documenting your security posture, control gaps, and remediation plan. Securafy's annual assessment meets carrier requirements and produces the documentation needed for accurate, defensible policy applications — reducing premium through documented evidence.
Required by many carriersCyber insurance typically has two coverage components. Understanding both is critical to ensuring your policy actually protects your business — and that your controls satisfy requirements for each coverage type.
Lost revenue and ongoing expenses while your systems are down during an incident. Requires documented tested backups and incident response plan. Recovery time objectives must be documented and tested.
Ransom payment negotiation, payment facilitation, and crisis management. Requires proof of EDR deployment, MFA, and isolated backups. Carriers increasingly require proof that law enforcement was notified.
Cost of restoring encrypted or destroyed data and rebuilding compromised systems. Requires documented backup procedures with tested restore processes. Carriers audit backup logs after incidents.
Forensic investigation costs, legal counsel, public relations support, and breach notification expenses. Requires written incident response plan. Forensic investigators verify controls were in place before reimbursing.
Legal defense and settlements if customers, patients, or partners sue you for failing to protect their data. Ohio Safe Harbor Act provides a legal defense for businesses with documented cybersecurity programs — Securafy's COMPLY-CARE delivers both.
Defense costs and fines from HIPAA OCR, FTC, state regulators, or PCI DSS assessors following a data breach. Coverage varies by carrier — some exclude regulatory fines entirely. Your security posture documentation directly impacts coverage eligibility.
Fraudulent wire transfers and financial losses from email fraud. BEC causes more total financial losses than ransomware. Requires DMARC enforcement, MFA on email accounts, and documented approval workflows for financial transactions.
If your compromised systems are used to attack a third party — a client, a supplier, or a partner — this covers claims against you. Particularly relevant for MSPs and SaaS providers. Requires documented network segmentation and monitoring.
Cyber insurance claim denials are increasing as carriers use forensic investigators to audit security controls post-incident. These are the most common reasons Ohio businesses have claims denied — and what Securafy does to prevent each one.
| Denial Reason | How It Happens | How Securafy Prevents It |
|---|---|---|
| MFA not deployed | Application claimed MFA on all accounts; forensics found admin accounts or email without MFA enabled | ✓We enforce MFA on every account and document coverage — producing an MFA inventory report for carrier applications |
| Backups not isolated or untested | Ransomware encrypted backups stored on the same network. Carrier found no evidence of isolation or restore testing | ✓We deploy immutable/air-gapped backups and conduct documented quarterly restore tests with timestamped evidence |
| No written incident response plan | Business checked "Yes" on IRP question with no actual document. Post-incident forensics found no evidence of an IRP | ✓We develop, maintain, and annually test a written IRP tailored to your business — the document exists and is defensible |
| Known vulnerability unpatched | Attack exploited a published CVE that was unpatched for 90+ days. Carrier cited breach of policy's "reasonable care" requirement | ✓Automated patch management with documented patch cycles — critical vulnerabilities patched within defined SLAs |
| Misrepresentation on application | Application overstated security posture; forensics found discrepancy between claimed and actual controls | ✓Our annual assessment documents your actual security posture — applications accurately reflect reality, eliminating misrepresentation risk |
| No EDR on compromised endpoint | Attack originated from an unmanaged device or a machine where EDR was disabled/expired | ✓Complete endpoint inventory with EDR deployed and actively monitored on every managed device — we track coverage gaps in real time |
| Delayed breach discovery | Attacker was in the network for months before detection. Carrier cited lack of monitoring as breach of policy conditions | ✓24/7 SOC monitoring with defined detection and escalation SLAs — attackers have hours, not months, before we find them |
Securafy builds cyber insurance readiness into our service delivery — not as an add-on but as a foundational outcome. Every Securafy client is positioned to qualify for coverage, maintain it at renewal, and defend claims when incidents occur.
We complete or review your cyber insurance application alongside you — ensuring every question accurately reflects your actual security posture. Accurate applications prevent the misrepresentation denials that increasingly appear in post-incident forensics. We maintain an evidence portfolio you can provide to any carrier on demand.
We deploy and enforce MFA on email (M365/Google Workspace), VPN, remote desktop, and all cloud platforms. We produce a documented MFA coverage inventory showing carrier-required controls are in place across your entire user population — not just for some accounts.
We design and implement backup solutions with offline, air-gapped, or immutable cloud storage — properly isolated from your production environment. Quarterly documented restore tests with written evidence. Backup architecture documentation in carrier-accepted format for underwriting purposes.
We develop a written, tested incident response plan tailored to your business — including defined roles, communication protocols, containment procedures, evidence preservation requirements, and regulatory notification timelines. Annually reviewed and updated to reflect changes in your environment and carrier requirements.
Enterprise-grade behavioral EDR on every managed endpoint — actively monitored 24/7 by our SOC. We maintain an asset inventory showing EDR coverage across your environment, ensuring no unprotected endpoints exist that could be used as claim denial leverage by a carrier's forensic team.
Annual third-party assessment documenting your security posture, control implementation, and risk profile. Produces a carrier-ready evidence package — including MFA coverage, backup isolation evidence, patch compliance reports, and training completion records — that supports accurate applications and lower premiums.
Ohio businesses have a unique opportunity: the Ohio Data Protection Act (ORC §1354) provides an affirmative legal defense against data breach lawsuits for businesses that maintain a qualifying cybersecurity program. This means the same controls that satisfy cyber insurance carriers also qualify your business for Ohio Safe Harbor protection — a double return on your security investment.
Ohio businesses with a documented cybersecurity program aligned to NIST CSF, CIS Controls, or other recognized frameworks get an affirmative defense against breach lawsuits. Securafy's COMPLY-CARE program satisfies both the Safe Harbor requirements and cyber insurance carrier controls simultaneously.
Cyber insurance premiums are increasingly risk-adjusted. Ohio businesses with documented security programs — verified MFA, EDR coverage reports, backup testing logs, and written IRPs — qualify for significantly lower premiums and higher coverage limits than businesses that simply check boxes on applications.
Ohio state contracts, county government work, and federal contracts increasingly require vendors to carry minimum cyber insurance limits — often $1M–$5M per occurrence. Securafy helps government contractors maintain the security posture needed to qualify for and keep these policies.
Enterprise clients, healthcare systems, banks, and defense contractors increasingly require their Ohio vendors and suppliers to carry cyber insurance with minimum limits. Securafy helps SMBs meet these supply chain requirements — turning cybersecurity investment into business development.
Ohio requires notification to affected residents "in the most expedient time possible" following a breach of personal information. Cyber insurance covers breach notification costs — attorney fees, notification letters, credit monitoring — but only when you can prove reasonable security controls were maintained before the breach occurred.
Carriers are tightening renewal requirements every year — running external attack surface scans, increasing control verification, and adjusting premiums based on posture changes since last renewal. Securafy times your annual security assessment to your renewal cycle and delivers an updated evidence package that keeps your coverage intact and your premiums competitive.
Most Ohio businesses don't find out their coverage is deficient until they file a claim. Securafy's free Cyber Insurance Readiness Assessment identifies gaps in your controls before your carrier's forensic team does — and we fix them. Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio.