Cyber insurance guide
Cyber insurance application checklist
Gathering this information before you apply makes the process faster and the quotes more accurate.
Business information
- Legal name, website domains, and years in business
- Industry and description of operations
- Annual revenue and number of employees
- Locations and any foreign operations
Data inventory
- Types of sensitive data you hold: Social Security numbers, health records, payment card data, financial account data
- Approximate number of individuals whose data you store
- Where data lives: on-premises servers, cloud services, vendors
- Whether data is encrypted at rest and in transit
Security controls
- Multi-factor authentication coverage
- Endpoint protection and monitoring
- Backup method, frequency, and last test
- Patch management process
- Email filtering and training program
- Incident response plan
Vendors and history
- Critical technology vendors and managed service providers
- Contracts that require cyber coverage limits
- Prior incidents, claims, or regulatory inquiries
- Current or prior cyber policy and expiration date
Start a cyber insurance request.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a cyber application take?
Short forms for small businesses can take minutes; larger risks may require a detailed questionnaire and sometimes an external scan of your internet-facing systems.
Will the insurer scan my network?
Many insurers run non-intrusive external scans of your domain and public-facing systems as part of underwriting.
Do I need to disclose prior incidents?
Yes. Applications ask about prior breaches, claims, and incidents, and accurate answers protect your coverage.
More coverage and guides
- First-party cyber coverage
- Third-party cyber liability
- Ransomware and cyber extortion coverage
- Social engineering and funds transfer fraud
- Cyber business interruption
- Regulatory defense and PCI coverage
- Data breach notification laws by state
- Security controls cyber insurers look for
- Cyber insurance application checklist
- What affects cyber insurance cost
- Building a cyber incident response plan
Last updated October 15, 2026 · How we research