Cybersecurity + Cyber Insurance: Why One Without the Other Isn’t Enough
Small and mid-sized businesses are doing more than ever to build resilience against cyber threats. Multifactor authentication, endpoint protection, employee training, access controls—all essential measures. But in the rush to tick off technical defenses, most companies still leave one item off the list that could make or break their recovery: cyber insurance.
If cybersecurity is your lock, cyber insurance is the deadbolt. And if you’re ignoring it, you’re gambling with your balance sheet.
The Reality: Cyber Incidents Will Occur
In 2023, 41% of small businesses experienced a cyberattack, according to Hiscox’s Cyber Readiness Report. That number has climbed steadily year over year, and the targets aren’t limited to major corporations anymore. Sophisticated ransomware groups now automate attacks at scale, scanning the internet for unpatched vulnerabilities and unsecured entry points.
Even if your company has done everything right technically, attackers only need one missed update, one credential reused across platforms, or one employee who clicks the wrong link. That’s all it takes to bring operations to a standstill.
And when that happens, the question becomes: Who’s paying for it?
Why Most Businesses Still Miss the Mark
Many companies either:
- Don’t have cyber insurance at all, assuming as a small business they would not be targeted
- Bought coverage without understanding it, often through a generalist broker, or
- Let their policy lapse, because they didn’t experience an incident (yet).
And while there’s a growing marketplace, very few brokers specialize in helping companies understand their exposure and align actual cyber risk with policy design. This is where things fall apart—coverage exists, but it’s mismatched, poorly scoped, or difficult to activate when needed.
What Cyber Insurance Actually Covers
Most business leaders I speak with still think of insurance in abstract terms—vague coverage, legalese, forms nobody reads. But in the cyber world, a well-structured policy should be clear and understood in terms of what it covers. When correctly structured, it includes but not limited to:
- Ransomware response costs and extortion payments:
- Business interruption coverage
- Breach Response Costs
- Network Security Liability
- Regulatory Liability
- Privacy Laibility
The Intersection of Cybersecurity and Insurance
Certain insurers now also provide their own security tools and services to their policyholders. These include
- Email filtering and monitoring
- Managed Detection and Response
- Incident response preparedness and employee training.
For small businesses who either have few resources to invest in security or struggle to understand how to address these risks cyber insurance can be the solution they need.
Cyber insurance isn’t a substitute for good security. But security without insurance leaves your business exposed in ways you can’t afford.
At Galahad Risk Solutions, we work with companies to bridge the gap between technical preparation and financial protection—because both matter, especially when things go wrong.
If your cybersecurity checklist doesn’t include an insurance strategy, it’s incomplete.
Ben Beeson Founder & CEO | Galahad Risk Solutions LLC 📍 Washington, D.C. www.galahadrisksolutions.com
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