Let’s have a real talk about cybersecurity insurance.
Because there’s a whole lot of "I thought I was covered..." happening out there, and it’s costing small businesses big time.

You think it’s boring paperwork.
I think it’s one of the most misunderstood (and most dangerous) gaps in small business protection today.

Let me walk you through what cyber insurance covers, and more importantly, what it doesn’t.

What Cyber Insurance Does Cover:

1. Your Employees' Mistakes
Yep. Your people are clicking dumb links. Opening shady attachments. Sending wire transfers to fake “vendors.”
93% of cyber insurance claims are tied to human error. That means your team. Not Russian hackers. Not rogue IT guys. Your payroll, your problem.

2. The Aftermath of a Breach
We're talking:

• Forensic investigation

• Legal defense

• PR repair

• Regulatory fines

• Ransomware payments (sometimes)
  If it’s related to responding to or cleaning up a breach, your policy might foot the bill, IF you qualify. Keep reading.
  

3. The Systems You Honestly Disclosed
Cyber insurance policies are underwritten based on your answers.
If you told the insurance company you have MFA (multi-factor authentication) on everything, but you don’t, guess what?

 Claim denied

If you said your backups are secure and testable, but they’re sitting on a dusty USB in the back closet,  

  Claim denied.

What Cyber Insurance Does NOT Cover:

1. Your MSP’s Mistakes (Unless They Caused the Breach)
If your IT provider screws up and they cause the breach, their policy might help.
But if YOU make the mistake, your MSP’s policy won’t touch it.
Let me say that louder for the folks in the back:

Your MSP’s insurance doesn’t cover your mess.

You need your policy. Period.

2. Systems You Lied About
Cyber policies are conditional. This is not car insurance.
You don’t get to say “we have top-level security” and then run Windows 7 with no password. That’s not how this works.
Lying on your app is a surefire way to burn money and end up liable.

3. General IT Support or Prevention
Cyber insurance is reactionary. It doesn’t stop the breach. It doesn’t monitor your network. It won’t call you and say, “Hey, Brenda in accounting just clicked a malicious PDF.”

That’s what your MSP does (if they’re good).

When Does an “Incident” Become a Claim?

Great question.

A breach doesn’t become a claim until someone makes a written legal demand against your business.
That’s when the clock starts ticking. You’ll wish you’d read the fine print then. Trust me.

So, What Should You Do?

Here’s the answer:

1. Get your cybersecurity insurance. Full stop.
   

2. Be 100% honest in your application. Lies don’t pay out.
   

3. Partner with an MSP that hardens your environment, not just “monitors” it.
   

4. Train your team. Because your insurance will only help after your employees screw up.
   

5. Test your systems. If you’ve never tested a backup or your MFA process, congrats, you’re uninsured in practice, even if you paid the premium.
   

Final Word: Cyber Insurance Isn’t a Silver Bullet, It’s a Safety Net!

But you better make sure the net’s attached before you walk the wire.

Because when that breach happens (and it will), you won’t care what the premium cost is. You’ll care what it covers.

And you’ll wish you had asked the hard questions before you needed the answers.

Want help figuring out if your tech setup matches what your cyber policy says it does?

Let’s have a real conversation. Straight talk, clear answers, no tech double-speak.