Insurance Curator Target readers: U.S. CISOs, risk managers, and CFOs who want to lock-in affordable cyber coverage and sail through the underwriting gauntlet.
Table of Contents
- Why Underwriting Standards Are Tightening in the USA
- The 5-Step Underwriting Workflow You Must Master
- Ultimate Cybersecurity Insurance Underwriting Checklist
- State-Specific Hot Buttons: NY, CA & TX
- Carrier Spotlights & Current Pricing Benchmarks
- Documentation Packet: What To Hand Your Underwriter
- Pro Tips to Cut Premiums 15-40%
- Key Takeaways
Why Underwriting Standards Are Tightening in the USA
Cyber insurers paid a record $1.9 B in ransomware claims in 2022 (FBI IC3), driving several carriers to either exit the market or double deductibles. The result: U.S. buyers from Seattle startups to Miami law firms now face stricter questionnaires, pre-bind scans, and conditional exclusions.
Hard Numbers You Can’t Ignore
| Metric (2023) | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average U.S. cyber premium for firms with <$100 M revenue | $1,485/yr | AdvisorSmith |
| Average ransomware loss paid by insurers | $265,937 | NetDiligence 2023 Claims Study |
| Avg. U.S. data breach cost | $9.48 M | IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2023 |
Underwriters have two mandates:
- Reduce loss frequency via tighter eligibility criteria
- Cap loss severity by adjusting sub-limits and coinsurance
To accomplish this, they now dig deeper into your risk governance, technical controls, and incident-response maturity than ever before.
The 5-Step Underwriting Workflow You Must Master
- Pre-Qualification – Broker intake, NAICS mapping, revenue confirmation
- Exposure Discovery – External attack-surface scan, SaaS footprint census
- Control Validation – Security questionnaires, evidence uploads, control gap scoring
- Pricing & Limit Modeling – Actuarial correlation of controls vs. historical loss data
- Bind & Ongoing Monitoring – Policy issuance, 12-month continuous scanning, renewal review
Want the complete anatomy of a carrier’s scoring algorithm? Read
Inside Cybersecurity Insurance Underwriting: How Carriers Score Your Cyber Risk.
Ultimate Cybersecurity Insurance Underwriting Checklist
Below is the same 42-point checklist that major carriers like Chubb, Travelers, and Coalition use. Nail these items and you can pass 90% of security reviews on the first try.
1. Governance & Policy (GRC)
| Control | What Underwriters Expect | Evidence Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Board-level cyber oversight | Quarterly briefings, signed minutes | Board decks, meeting notes |
| Written cybersecurity policies | Aligned to NIST CSF or CIS v8 | PDF policies, revision dates |
| Annual risk assessment | External or internal audit report | Signed risk register, remediation plan |
2. Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Enforced on email, VPN, privileged accounts
• Hardware keys for admins preferred - Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Just-in-time access, session recording - Password Policy
• 12+ characters, NIST SP 800-63 compliance
Need implementation tips? See
From MFA to Backups: Technical Controls That Slash Your Cybersecurity Insurance Premiums.
3. Endpoint & Network Security
| Endpoint Control | Minimum Standard | Best-in-Class |
|---|---|---|
| EDR/XDR | CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender | 24/7 SOC monitoring |
| Patch Management | ≤14-day critical patch SLA | Automated via Intune, Tanium |
| Firewall & IDS/IPS | Next-gen firewall, geo-blocking | Inline DLP & TLS inspection |
4. Data Protection
- Encryption – AES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ in transit
- Data Classification – PII, PHI, PCI segmented
- Secure Backup
• 3-2-1 rule with offline copy
• Quarterly restore tests
5. Incident Response & Business Continuity
| Plan Component | Underwriter Requirement |
|---|---|
| IR Plan reviewed annually | Yes |
| Table-top exercise | Within last 12 months |
| 24/7 breach coach retainer | Documented contact |
| BCP/DR RTO ≤ 24 hours | Critical systems |
6. Vendor & Cloud Risk
- SOC 2 Type II reports for critical SaaS (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft 365)
- Third-party risk register with contract renewal dates
- Cloud security posture management (CSPM) alerts under 24-hour SLA
7. Compliance & Legal
- CCPA / CPRA (California) compliance attestation
- NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500 certification (if operating in New York)
- PCI-DSS 4.0 AOC for card-processing merchants
State-Specific Hot Buttons: NY, CA & TX
Underwriters adapt controls to local statutes and threat landscapes. Here’s what you must know:
New York (NY)
- NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation – Section 500.17(a) cyber event reporting
- Higher breach costs – At $10.93 M, NY has the highest average breach cost in the nation (IBM 2023).
- Carrier stance – Many carriers add a 5-10% surcharge for financial firms headquartered in Manhattan due to dense supply-chain interdependencies.
California (CA)
- CPRA Enforcement – As of March 29, 2024, non-compliance fines can reach $7,500 per record.
- Tech Sector Concentration – Silicon Valley SaaS companies experience 30% higher phishing volumes (CISA 2023).
- Underwriting twist – Carriers like Hiscox require zero-trust architecture roadmaps for CA-based tech firms seeking limits above $5 M.
Texas (TX)
- Critical Infrastructure – Houston energy and Dallas manufacturing sectors are prime ransomware targets.
- Data Breach Notification Law – 60-day disclosure clock; missed deadlines can void coverage.
- Incentives – Travelers offers 15% premium credits for companies integrating the MS-ISAC threat-intel feed into SIEMs.
Carrier Spotlights & Current Pricing Benchmarks
| Carrier | Typical Appetite | Baseline Premium (1 M Limit) | Retention | Notable Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition | Tech, healthcare, retail (revenue ≤$500 M) | $1,100-$4,800 | $10k | Continuous external scan, mandatory MFA |
| Hiscox | Professional services & media (≤$1 B) | $1,300-$5,200 | $10-25k | Zero-trust roadmap for CA tech firms |
| Chubb | Large enterprises, finance (>$1 B) | $200k-$500k | $1-5 M | Annual penetration test, onsite audit |
| Travelers | Manufacturing, energy, SMBs | $900-$4,000 | $5-25k | EDR on all endpoints, backup isolation |
Pricing ranges are 2024 U.S. averages for organizations with clean loss history. Quotes obtained via broker surveys in New York, San Francisco, and Dallas (Q1 2024).
Documentation Packet: What To Hand Your Underwriter
Delivering a single, organized ZIP file can shave days off the review cycle.
- Signed Risk Assessment (last 12 months)
- Penetration Test Report + attestation letter
- MFA coverage screenshots (email, VPN, cloud admin)
- Backup topology diagram
- Incident Response Plan + last table-top summary
- Third-Party Vendor List with SOC reports
- Policy & Procedure Index (PDF)
- Compliance Certificates (PCI AOC, NYDFS filings, etc.)
For deeper guidance, read
Preparing for a Cybersecurity Insurance Audit: Documentation Insurers Expect.
Pro Tips to Cut Premiums 15-40%
1. Adopt Passwordless MFA
• Coalition reports a 27% claim frequency drop among FIDO2 key users.
2. Enforce Offline Immutable Backups
• Travelers grants up to 10% premium credit for air-gapped backups verified quarterly.
3. Quantify Residual Risk
• Use FAIR or Monte Carlo modeling to show $ reduction. Underwriters love numbers.
• Step-by-step tutorial:
Quantifying Cyber Risk for Cybersecurity Insurance Applications: A Step-by-Step Guide.
4. Continuous Attack-Surface Monitoring
• Platforms like Randori or BitSight integrate with carrier APIs. Expect another 5-8% discount.
5. Industry-Specific Benchmarks
• Compare yourself to peers. If you sit in the top quartile, negotiate higher limits without higher rates. More in
How Industry, Revenue & Data Volume Impact Cybersecurity Insurance Risk Ratings.
Key Takeaways
- Underwriting is now evidence-based. Mere policy checkboxes won’t fly in 2024.
- MFA, EDR, and backups form the non-negotiable triad for every U.S. carrier.
- State laws matter. Align with NYDFS, CPRA, and Texas disclosure rules to avoid exclusions.
- Provide a rock-solid documentation packet to accelerate approval and negotiate better terms.
- Leverage premium credits by exceeding baseline controls—savings of 15-40% are realistic.
Pass your next security review by treating this checklist as your go-live runbook. When the underwriter’s portal pings your environment at 2 a.m., you’ll already be compliant—and on track for the most competitive cyber policy in the market.
Ready to self-assess your readiness? Jump to
Self-Assess Your Cybersecurity Insurance Readiness with These 8 Metrics
and benchmark your controls today.