Cyber Insurance Part 1: Top 6 reasons your cyber claim may be denied

If you think that your cyber insurance claim will be cleared with no questions asked, think again. While reviewing your claim, your cyber insurance provider will assess whether you took “due care” to protect your business from being compromised by a cyberattack. While having a cyber liability insurance policy is non-negotiable today, you cannot be fully assured that your insurer will cover any of the costs you incur following a security breach.

Hidden in the fine print of your cyber insurance policy document are certain terms and conditions set by the insurer that you must be compliant with. That’s why it is important for you to assess whether you are compliant with the terms of your cyber insurance policy and ensure that any risks that could lead to non-compliance are remediated.

Let’s take a look at some of the common reasons why cyber insurers deny claims, what impact claim denials can have and how the right support can help you ensure your cyber insurance claim isn’t denied due to non-compliance.

Top 6 Reasons Why Your Cyber Insurer May Deny Your Claim

Besides their efforts to minimize payouts and boost the loss ratio (the ratio of premiums to payouts), cyber liability insurance companies look at various other aspects to deny a payout or payout only to a certain extent. Here are six of the most common reasons why your cyber insurer may either deny your claim completely or a sizeable portion of it.

1. Policy Exclusions

Policy exclusions can be easily considered the biggest reason for claim denials. Applying for a claim for a security incident that falls in the list of exclusions that are often mentioned in the fine print of the policy document could prove to be a futile exercise.

2. Poor Prevention Practices

By not having enough prevention practices in place, you could be handing the insurance company an easy reason to deny your claim. Your insurance policy lists data security practices that you must implement in your business’ network.  Remember all those questions your insurer asked when you applied?  Now’s the time you’ll have to prove that you have EDR and a backup and disaster recovery solution.  If not your claim may be denied.

3. Failure to Document Preventative Measures

Your insurer will want to see tangible evidence, in the form of documentation, regarding the preventative measures you have undertaken to ward off cyberthreats. To avoid any hassles, you need to have thorough, accurate and updated documentation at all times.

4. When a Third-Party Stakeholder Is at Fault

Your network’s security isn’t just your responsibility. It’s the responsibility of your third-party stakeholders as well. A security lapse in a third-party vendor’s network could result in the claim being denied by the insurer. Even if the claim isn’t denied, it’s highly likely that the insurer will scrutinize the matter in depth, which could make it a long, drawn-out process.

5. Accidental Errors and Omissions

Accidental errors and omissions in the documentation you share with the insurer could prove detrimental to the approval of your claim. The documented evidence should encompass everything you have done to abide by the terms put forth by the insurer.

6. When Coverage Doesn’t Extend Beyond the Interruption Timeframe

Cyber liability insurance plans vary, so you must pay close attention to coverage timeframes. This could be the difference between getting all your losses being covered versus just a small percentage of them.