Cyber Insurance Starts with Proven Security
Cyber insurance has shifted from a safety net to a proving ground. Carriers no longer rely on questionnaires; they need concrete, verifiable proof that your security controls are implemented and effective.
At the same time, the risk landscape continues to intensify. According to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, 49% of breaches are caused by human error or IT failures, reinforcing the need for continuous monitoring and rapid response. Adding to the complexity, 16% of breaches now involve AI, accelerating both the speed and sophistication of attacks.
This is why modern controls like Managed Detection and Response (MDR) have become vital. With ongoing visibility and quick containment, MDR provides the proof insures need to verify your security stance during underwriting and claims.
What’s Making Businesses Fail Underwriting
Cyber insurance underwriting has become significantly more stringent, with carriers tightening requirements in response to rising losses, more sophisticated attacks, and longer breach lifecycles.
Premiums Increasing 30–60% YoY
Because insurers must justify risk and focus on profitable portfolios.
Mandatory Controls
NGAV, EDR, MFA, advanced mail security, security awareness training, plus vulnerability and patch management, secure backups and more.
Application and Renewal Denials
A single missing control, like no MDR or no MFA, can trigger an automatic decline.
Claims Denials
Insurers verify your controls at the time of breach, and can deny coverage if safeguards are missing or inactive.
How Underwriters Actually Score Your Risk
Here’s the part most vendors gloss over. Insurers evaluate a mix of technical, operational, and historical factors when assessing whether to offer coverage and at what price.
Security Controls
The technical stack: EDR, MDR, MFA, logging, backups, privileged access management, segmentation, and email security.
Operational Maturity
Incident response plans, SOC readiness, credential hygiene, asset visibility, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Loss History
Previous cyber incidents, quality and speed of remediation, and any remaining residual risks.
Claims Defensibility
Your ability to prove that controls were in place and functioning at the time of the incident through logs, reports, and incident documentation. In the open market, gaps in any one of these areas—especially prior loss history—can result in higher premiums, restrictive terms, or outright declinations.
What Today’s Insurers Actually Require (By Carrier)
Different insurers have slightly different underwriting baselines, but most evaluate similar foundational controls. Here is a high-level view of what major carriers look for and how it aligns with your security stack.*
| Carrier | Requirements Summary |
|---|---|
| Cysurance | Endpoint security, MFA, email security, and vulnerability management. |
| Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions | Endpoint security, MFA, email security, backup, vulnerability management, and incident response readiness. |
| Sompo | Endpoint security, MFA, email security, backup, vulnerability management, incident response readiness, and awareness training. |
| Chubb | EDR on all endpoints, MFA for remote access and email, documented incident response plan, and 24/7 monitoring strongly preferred. |
| Hiscox | Ransomware-specific controls including EDR, backups, and email filtering, plus logging and evidence of monitoring and containment. |
| Travelers | Detailed log retention, privileged access management, and proof of continuous monitoring. |
| Coalition | Real-time monitoring, asset inventory, and visibility into vulnerabilities across the environment. |
| AXA XL | Response playbooks, advanced threat protection, and scrutiny of cloud applications and remote access paths. |
*For informational purposes only. Requirements may change and vary by carrier, underwriter, industry, and regulatory obligations. Always confirm with your insurer, broker, and applicable regulations.
Cyber Insurance Eligibility Checklist
Use this checklist to quickly see how close your organization is to meeting common cyber insurance requirements. Each item reflects controls that underwriters frequently reference during underwriting and renewal.
| Requirement | Why Insurers Demand It | How ESET Satisfies It | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDR on All Endpoints | Core ransomware and malware defense across the estate. | ESET PROTECT EDR/XDR. | AV-Comparatives: 100% protection rate and malware protection rate. (source) |
| 24/7 Monitoring | Fast detection and containment significantly reduce claim size. | ESET PROTECT MDR with global SOC coverage. | Average 6-minute Mean Time to Respond (MTTR). |
| MFA Everywhere | Reduces risk of credential theft and account takeover. | ESET supports and guides MFA deployment across key systems. | Implementation guidance and best-practice templates. |
| Log Retention (30–365 Days) | Needed for claims validation and root-cause analysis. | XDR telemetry with centralized log retention. | Insurer-aligned visibility into events and incidents. |
| Incident Response Plan | Required for underwriting and renewal discussions. | IR templates and MDR-guided playbooks built around your environment. | Threat detection, investigation data, log retention, and response telemetry support incident response readiness. |
| Threat Hunting | Proactive detection of hidden or emerging threats. | 24/7 human-led threat hunting through ESET MDR. | Evidence of investigations and actioned findings. |
| Email and Cloud Protection | Most breaches start via phishing or misconfigured SaaS. | ESET email and cloud app protection integrated into the stack. | Multi-layered filtering and policy controls. |
| Backups and Recovery Evidence | Required for ransomware coverage and resilience. | Support in validating backup policies and testing recovery workflows. | Detection, telemetry, and incident visibility that support recovery efforts. |
| Partner Validation | Underwriters prefer known, validated ecosystems. | ESET’s partnerships with Amwins, Cysurance, and others. | Access to insurance programs with preferred terms. |
| Security Awareness Training | Human error is the leading cause of cyber incidents. | ESET Cybersecurity Awareness Training | Ongoing, measurable, behavior-focused education; customizable phishing simulations; reporting tools; and certification. |
EDR on All Endpoints
Why Insurers Demand It
Core ransomware and malware defense across the estate.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET PROTECT EDR/XDR.
Proof
AV-Comparatives: 100% protection rate and malware protection rate. (source)
24/7 Monitoring
Why Insurers Demand It
Fast detection and containment significantly reduce claim size.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET PROTECT MDR with global SOC coverage.
Proof
Average 6-minute Mean Time to Respond (MTTR).
MFA Everywhere
Why Insurers Demand It
Reduces risk of credential theft and account takeover.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET supports and guides MFA deployment across key systems.
Proof
Implementation guidance and best-practice templates.
Log Retention (30–365 Days)
Why Insurers Demand It
Needed for claims validation and root-cause analysis.
How ESET Satisfies It
XDR telemetry with centralized log retention.
Proof
Insurer-aligned visibility into events and incidents.
Incident Response Plan
Why Insurers Demand It
Required for underwriting and renewal discussions.
How ESET Satisfies It
IR templates and MDR-guided playbooks built around your environment.
Proof
Threat detection, investigation data, log retention, and response telemetry support incident response readiness.
Threat Hunting
Why Insurers Demand It
Proactive detection of hidden or emerging threats.
How ESET Satisfies It
24/7 human-led threat hunting through ESET MDR.
Proof
Evidence of investigations and actioned findings.
Email and Cloud Protection
Why Insurers Demand It
Most breaches start via phishing or misconfigured SaaS.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET email and cloud app protection integrated into the stack.
Proof
Multi-layered filtering and policy controls.
Backups and Recovery Evidence
Why Insurers Demand It
Required for ransomware coverage and resilience.
How ESET Satisfies It
Support in validating backup policies and testing recovery workflows.
Proof
Detection, telemetry, and incident visibility that support recovery efforts.
Partner Validation
Why Insurers Demand It
Underwriters prefer known, validated ecosystems.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET’s partnerships with Amwins, Cysurance, and others.
Proof
Access to insurance programs with preferred terms.
Security Awareness Training
Why Insurers Demand It
Human error is the leading cause of cyber incidents.
How ESET Satisfies It
ESET Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Proof
Ongoing, measurable, behavior-focused education; customizable phishing simulations; reporting tools; and certification.
Cyber Insurance Requirements: Optimize Insurability with 6-Minute MDR Response
Cyber insurance has entered its maturity era. Carriers once sold policies based on trust. Now they demand evidence. Your evidence. If you’re missing even one critical control, your business can land on the “declined” pile before an underwriter finishes reviewing page one of your application.
ESET PROTECT MDR closes those gaps fast. With 6-minute Mean Time To Respond (MTTR), 24/7 monitoring, evidence-ready telemetry, and a built-in cyber warranty, you satisfy the exact technical controls underwriters require for approval, renewal, and premium reductions—without hiring a security team.
How Cysurance Changes the Outcome
Get built-in financial protection for costs that fall under your deductible, covering containment, remediation, and recovery expenses—at no additional cost. ESET’s cyber warranty, powered by Cysurance, complements your primary cyber insurance policy and gives you immediate financial relief during a breach.
Through ESET’s exclusive partnership with Cysurance, eligible ESET MDR customers can access instant, bindable cyber insurance through Cysurance. Coverage limits ($500K or $1M) align to the MDR bundle deployed, with no additional underwriting and significantly reduced premiums driven by ESET MDR.
Why Businesses Choose ESET to Improve Cyber Insurance Eligibility
Most vendors sell cybersecurity. ESET focuses on cybersecurity that makes you insurable. We align your security environment directly with the controls underwriters prioritize—reducing risk, strengthening your profile, and helping you qualify for better coverage at a lower cost.
6-Minute MTTR = Lower Risk Profile
Where most MDR vendors respond in 12–30 minutes, ESET responds in 6. Faster containment = lower projected loss = better eligibility.
Full SOC Coverage — No Security Team Needed
ESET’s MDR solution delivers 24/7 monitoring, threat hunting, containment, forensics, log analysis, and insurer-ready reporting as a managed service.
Built-In Cyber Warranty
Every MDR subscription includes a Cysurance-powered warranty that covers certain breach-related costs before your policy activates, reducing financial exposure.
Validated by Leading Insurance Distributors
ESET is trusted within the insurance ecosystem, including Amwins, Patriot Growth Insurance Services, Sompo, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions, and Cysurance—giving underwriters confidence in your controls.
Unified Protection Across the Entire Attack Surface
Single-stack coverage for email, cloud apps, endpoints, servers, mobile, network, identity, and log telemetry, delivering the visibility insurers increasingly require.
Trusted by Insurance Ecosystem Leaders
SOMPO
Specialty Insurance Provider
Intact
Specialty Insurance Solutions
Patriot
Growth Insurance Services
Amwins
Specialty Insurance Provider
Your Path to Better Coverage in 3 Steps
Explore MDR security telemetry
Talk to ESET experts about implementing MDR-enabled security controls, which can lower your risk score and increase your eligibility.
Remediate with ESET PROTECT MDR
Deploy ESET PROTECT MDR to fulfill carrier-required controls, including EDR, monitoring, threat hunting, rapid response, logging, and incident response readiness.
Validate and Save
Demonstrate security maturity through your installed MDR controls, unlock access to exclusive cyber insurance programs, and improve outcomes at renewal. Eligible MDR customers can access instant, bindable cyber insurance quotes exclusively through ESET partner Cysurance, often at savings of 50% or more versus standard market premiums.
How ESET PROTECT MDR Meets Core Underwriting Controls
ESET MDR
Supports one of the most critical cyber insurance underwriting expectations: 24/7 security operations.
Global SOC experts deliver continuous threat hunting, investigation, and rapid containment, while MDR telemetry provides forensic-level visibility and incident data that support underwriting and claims processes.
ESET XDR
Delivers unified visibility across endpoints, cloud services, email, and servers.
XDR captures the telemetry insurers need to validate claims, verify root cause, and confirm that controls were active at the time of an incident.
Key Benefits of ESET PROTECT MDR
| Feature | ESET MDR |
|---|---|
| Real-Time Threat Monitoring | 24/7 SOC monitoring with AI-driven detection. |
| Incident Response & Automated Mitigation | Automatically isolates and mitigates threats. |
| Endpoint & Server Security | Fully protects endpoints, servers, and mobile devices. |
| Cloud & Email Security | Protects Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and cloud apps from phishing and malware. |
| Advanced Threat Defense | Includes behavioral AI, sandboxing, and advanced analytics. |
| Vulnerability & Patch Management | Scans and automatically applies patches to mitigate vulnerabilities. |
| Extended Detection & Response (XDR) | Provides deep visibility into security events across attack vectors. |
| Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) | Enforces MFA for added security. |
| MDR Elite & Ultimate Service | Includes dedicated threat hunters, forensic analysis, and customizable security. |
| Cost & Flexibility | Customizable plans with full MDR capabilities. |
Case Study
Proven Protection. Recognized Results.
A mid-size manufacturing company with only one IT staff member and 100 endpoints faced severe cybersecurity risks, including a ransomware attack after an employee connected to unsecured Wi-Fi. To meet cyber insurance requirements and strengthen cyber resilience, the business adopted ESET PROTECT MDR.
Solution
ESET delivered 24/7 monitoring, vulnerability and patch management, and MFA, freeing internal resources.
Result
Cybersecurity insurance readiness, improved cybersecurity posture, reduced attack risk, and business continuity without adding headcount.1
Committed to the highest industry standards
ESET was awarded in multiple independent tests
ESET is a ‘Top Player’ in Advanced Persistent Threat protection ESET has been recognized as a ‘Top Player’ for the fifth year in a row in Radicati’s 2024 Advanced Persistent Threat Market Quadrant
ESET is appreciated by customers worldwide
ESET is a Market Leader in the KuppingerCole Analysts Leadership Compass 2026
ESET is recognized for over 1100 reviews collected on Gartner Peer Insights © 2022 Gartner, Inc. Gartner® and Peer Insights™ are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
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Secure Your Business.
Protect Your Budget.
Are you an existing customer? Renew
Underwriters want proof of readiness. ESET gives you the posture, evidence, and validation to secure coverage—and keep it, year after year.
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- Automated threat evaluation combined with world-class security researchers in 13 global R&D centers
- 24/7 local and reliable support round the globe in your language
- Signature light footprint guarantees extremely low impact on device performance
- Multilayered technology assures best detection rates and minimal false positives
Common Questions About Cyber Insurance
Does buying ESET guarantee I’ll get cyber insurance?
No cybersecurity vendor can guarantee policy approval. However, ESET satisfies the technical controls underwriters rely on—such as MDR, EDR, logging, and incident response—which significantly improves your eligibility. Additionally, eligible ESET MDR customers can access instant, bindable cyber insurance quotes exclusively through ESET’s partner, Cysurance, with coverage limits aligned to their MDR bundle—without additional underwriting.
Can ESET help me get better cyber insurance pricing?
Yes. ESET doesn’t price policies, but eligible MDR customers can access Cysurance quotes designed for MDR-backed security, often at lower rates than the open market.
Will ESET PROTECT MDR work with my existing tools?
Yes. ESET integrates with SIEMs, identity providers, cloud services, and email platforms, allowing you to build on your existing investments rather than rip-and-replace.
What causes cyber insurance claims to be denied?
Claims may be denied if insurers determine that required controls—such as MFA, endpoint protection, logging, or monitoring—were not in place or active at the time of an incident. Although claims decisions remain with the insurer, ESET MDR helps reduce this risk by ensuring continuous detection and security visibility.
What is the Cyber Warranty and how does it work?
The Cyber Warranty, powered by Cysurance, is a financial warranty included with ESET PROTECT MDR. It helps cover certain breach-related costs—especially those within your deductible—providing an additional financial safety net. Warranty coverage applies when ESET MDR is deployed and operating as required via T&Cs at the time of the incident.
Do insurers really check logs and reports during a claim?
Yes. Most modern cyber insurers review logs, alerts, and incident reports to validate claims.
Which industries benefit most from ESET’s insurability-focused approach?
Organizations in highly regulated or disruption-sensitive industries—such as healthcare, financial services, government, technology, manufacturing, and professional services—benefit most from ESET’s insurability-focused approach, where insurers closely evaluate endpoint controls, monitoring, and incident visibility.
How quickly can we improve our insurability with ESET?
Many organizations close critical gaps in days, not months—especially for requirements like 24/7 monitoring, EDR deployment, logging, and incident response documentation.