Insurance Readiness — a policy that doesn't pay out isn't coverage.
21% of cyber insurance claims were denied or partially denied in 2025 — most often over unmet control requirements the policyholder didn't realise were conditions of coverage. SIRI's insurance readiness capability closes that gap before you ever need to file a claim.
The application form is now a control checklist, and the checklist is enforced at claim time
21% of claims were denied or partially denied in 2025 — usually over a control gap nobody flagged until the incident happened.
Cyber insurance underwriting has shifted from a financial questionnaire to a technical control audit. MFA, EDR, backup practices and incident-response readiness are no longer boxes ticked on an application — they're conditions of coverage that get scrutinised again when a claim is filed, and a gap discovered at that point is the most expensive time to find it.
The specific requirements are now largely standardised across the market: 96% of insurers require MFA on all remote access, email and privileged accounts, and 88% mandate EDR across managed devices. A policyholder who attested to these controls at renewal but hadn't actually closed the gaps is exactly the profile behind a rising share of the 21% of claims denied or partially denied in 2025 — up from 15% just two years earlier.
SIRI's insurance readiness capability assesses your environment directly against current underwriting requirements — MFA coverage, EDR deployment, backup and recovery practices, incident-response readiness — closes the gaps before renewal or application, and builds the evidence base (from SIRI MDR's monitoring, SIRI Response's incident documentation, and SIRI Resilience's tested plans) that actually supports a claim when one is needed.
What organisations get wrong
Four assumptions that turn a policy into a denied claim
Most claim denials aren't about fraud — they're about a control gap discovered at the worst possible time.
“We answered yes on the application”
An attestation that doesn't match your actual technical state is exactly the gap insurers audit for at claim time — and the mismatch is what drives denial.
“We have MFA, so we meet the requirement”
Partial MFA coverage — missing on legacy systems, privileged accounts, or some remote-access paths — doesn't meet the “all remote access, email and privileged accounts” bar 96% of insurers now require.
“We'll gather proof if we ever need to claim”
Evidence assembled reactively during an active incident is harder to produce convincingly than a record maintained continuously beforehand.
“We met requirements when we bought the policy”
Underwriting requirements have tightened significantly in recent years — a policy bought under an older control bar may not reflect what's required at renewal or claim time now.
What SIRI's insurance readiness covers
Closing the gap between what you attested and what you can prove
Assessed against current underwriting requirements, with evidence built continuously.
Underwriting Control Gap Assessment
Assessing your environment against current insurer control requirements directly.
- MFA-coverage assessment
- EDR-deployment verification
- Backup & recovery review
Control-Gap Remediation
Closing identified gaps before application, renewal, or claim time.
- Prioritised remediation guidance
- MFA & EDR deployment support
- Fix verification
Continuous Evidence Building
Building the evidence base that actually supports a claim, before you need it.
- Continuous control evidence
- Incident-documentation readiness
- Audit-ready evidence trail
Application & Renewal Support
Supporting accurate, evidence-backed underwriting applications and renewals.
- Application accuracy review
- Renewal readiness assessment
- Premium-reduction positioning
Incident & Claims Documentation
Documentation built during an incident that actually supports the claim that follows.
- Forensic evidence for claims
- Incident-timeline documentation
- Direct link to SIRI Response
Ongoing Underwriting-Bar Monitoring
Tracking as underwriting requirements tighten, so readiness doesn't quietly go stale.
- Requirement-change monitoring
- Recurring readiness reassessment
- Renewal-cycle alignment
Evidence, not guesswork
No readiness programme vs. attestation-only vs. SIRI Insurance Readiness — what actually differs
Answering yes on an application and actually meeting the bar are different things.
| Approach | No insurance readiness programme | Attestation-only (unverified) | SIRI Insurance Readiness |
|---|---|---|---|
| MFA & EDR coverage verified | No | Assumed, not verified | Technically verified |
| Evidence built before a claim is needed | No | No | Continuous |
| Gap remediation before renewal | No | Reactive, if at all | Proactive |
| Claims documentation support | No | No | Included — via SIRI Response |
| Ongoing requirement-change tracking | No | No | Standard |
Sources: Deloitte Global Insurance Outlook (2025); Marsh McLennan (2025); Coalition underwriting data (via industry compilations). Summarised for comparison; confirm current requirements with your specific insurer.
Numbers every board should know
What underwriters are actually requiring and denying
Of claims denied
Or partially denied in 2025, up from 15% in 2023.
Require MFA everywhere
Of insurers, across all remote access, email and privileged accounts.
Mandate EDR
Of underwriters require endpoint detection and response tooling.
Of small businesses covered
Carry cyber insurance at all, versus 92% of enterprises.
Compliance alignment
Standards & frameworks we align to
Our methodology is built around publicly recognised frameworks — not a proprietary checklist. Where a specific certification or attestation is completed and verified, it will be named here explicitly.
Framework references reflect publicly available versions as of publication and describe the standards our methodology is aligned to; they are not a claim of certification, attestation, or audit completion unless stated explicitly elsewhere on this site.
Why SIRI for insurance readiness specifically
Readiness verified technically, not just attested on a form
The gap between what's attested and what's actually true is exactly what claim-time review is designed to find.
Verified, not assumed
Control coverage is technically assessed against current underwriting requirements, not taken on faith from an internal attestation.
Evidence built continuously
Documentation that supports a claim is maintained on an ongoing basis, not assembled reactively during an active incident.
Connected to real incident response
Where a claim does follow an incident, SIRI Response's forensic documentation feeds directly into the claims evidence base.
Tracks a moving bar
Underwriting requirements are monitored on an ongoing basis, so readiness doesn't quietly fall behind as insurers tighten their standards.
Who this is built for
Organisations SIRI's insurance readiness is built for
How we work
From gap assessment to ongoing readiness
Assess Against Requirements
Reviewing your environment against current underwriter control requirements.
Weeks 1–2Close Gaps
Remediating identified gaps — MFA, EDR, backups, IR readiness.
Weeks 3–5Build Evidence
Establishing continuous evidence collection to support future claims.
Week 6Maintain Readiness
Ongoing monitoring as underwriting requirements evolve.
OngoingFrequently asked
Insurance readiness, answered directly
Can you help us get a lower premium, not just avoid denial?
Often, yes — meeting and being able to evidence current control requirements is a common factor in more favourable underwriting terms, though final pricing decisions rest with the insurer.
Do you work with our specific insurer's requirements?
Yes — the assessment is scoped against your specific policy's requirements and current market-standard underwriting expectations, since requirements vary somewhat by insurer.
What happens if we already have a policy but haven't verified our controls?
This is one of the most common starting points — a gap assessment against your current policy's stated requirements, followed by remediation of anything that wouldn't hold up under claim-time scrutiny.
Does this help if we're already mid-incident and need to file a claim?
Where possible — SIRI Response's forensic documentation is built to support claims evidence, but readiness work is most effective done proactively, before an incident, rather than during one.
How often should insurance readiness be reassessed?
At minimum at every renewal cycle, and ideally on an ongoing basis, since underwriting requirements have tightened significantly in recent years and continue to evolve.
Find out if your policy would actually pay out
Close the gap before a claim finds it for you.
Start with a control-gap assessment, or prepare for an upcoming renewal.
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