If you lead a small firm in accounting, law, or healthcare, this shift directly affects you.

In just the past two years, the cyber insurance market has changed dramatically. What used to be a safety net is now more like a compliance audit—and if your practice isn’t ready, you could face denied claims, higher premiums, or worse: no coverage at all.

Here’s what we’re seeing every day in the Michigan market:

📈 Premiums are rising
🔎 Underwriting is stricter
🚫 Claims are being denied more often

Why? Because insurers are no longer covering vague or assumed risk. They want proof that your firm is taking security seriously—and that you can demonstrate it with documentation and controls.

Insurance Now Reflects Your Actual Cyber Posture

For firms with 10–50 people and sensitive client data, getting and keeping coverage now depends on very specific practices:

✅ Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts
✅ Tested, encrypted backups
✅ Ongoing employee cyber awareness training
✅ Documented security policies and response plans

Insurers are asking tough, detailed questions—and they expect clear, consistent answers. If you can’t demonstrate the right protections, your application may be delayed, your premiums may spike, or your claim might not hold up when it counts.

Where Firms Get Stuck (and What to Fix)

Most problems we see aren’t the result of a breach. They’re the result of small but fixable security gaps that insurers are flagging up front:

🚫 MFA enabled for email—but not remote access
🚫 Backups that exist—but haven’t been tested
🚫 “Common sense” policies—but nothing documented
🚫 Third-party vendor access with no review or controls
🚫 “Our IT guy handles it”—but no one can show proof

Sound familiar?

These issues don’t just raise your premiums—they can lead to denied coverage altogether. The good news: you can close these gaps long before your renewal lands on your desk.

How to Stay Insurable (and Possibly Lower Your Premiums)

Here’s what insurers now expect from firms like yours:

✅ MFA across all critical systems
✅ Modern endpoint protection with logging
✅ Documented, tested backups
✅ Annual employee security training
✅ Clear third-party/vendor access controls
✅ Regular policy reviews—especially after IT changes

Start here. Don’t wait for your broker to call or your renewal date to sneak up.

Firms that document and demonstrate these controls don’t just stay covered—they’re often rewarded with more favorable terms.

This Isn’t About Complexity—It’s About Control.

Cyber insurance is no longer a passive purchase. It’s part of your business risk strategy.

And like everything we do at Big Water Technologies, it can be simple—with the right guidance and the right plan.

📞 Want to talk through where your firm stands? We’d be glad to help.