Cyber Insurance and Proactive IT
This week we had to renew our insurance policies, and I spoke with my insurance agent. What I learned is that you don't have to be a large corporation to suffer a costly cyberattack.
For a small business, a few days without email, billing, customer records, or critical applications can become a serious business problem.
Here are three real examples:
🔹 Small Accounting Firm — $31,000 Covered
A firm with fewer than 25 employees experienced a cyber incident involving fraudulent tax returns for nearly two dozen clients. Cyber insurance covered about $31,000 in forensic investigation, client notification, and credit monitoring after a $2,500 retention.
🔹 Solo Medical Practice — Months of Lost Revenue
After a ransomware attack, the practice discovered the provider was underinsured, and its backups were inadequate. The physician spent approximately $8,000 moving to a more secure provider and took months to recover almost all of the lost revenue.
🔹 Small Surgical Practice — Couldn't Get Paid
Ransomware hit the practice's medical billing company. Patients were still being treated, and employees were still working, but claims couldn't be processed. Revenue essentially stopped, and the practice needed financing to cover payroll and operating expenses.
That's why cyber insurance alone isn't enough.
Insurance can help with the financial loss. A proactive MSP helps reduce the likelihood and impact of an incident through MFA, EDR/MDR, ITDR, patching, security monitoring, employee training, tested backups, disaster recovery, and incident-response planning.
Having a backup isn't the same as knowing it can restore your business.
Having antivirus isn't the same as having someone monitoring and responding to threats.
Cybersecurity isn't just about protecting computers. It's about protecting your revenue, reputation, customers, employees, and ability to operate.
Cyber insurance helps protect against financial risk. Proactive IT helps protect the business. You need both!
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