What Your Insurance Company Now Requires From Your IT
Cyber insurers have dramatically tightened their underwriting requirements since 2021. Ontario businesses renewing or applying for cyber insurance in 2025 and 2026 face a detailed technical questionnaire covering security controls that many SMBs have not fully implemented. The controls cyber insurers now require as standard: multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all remote access, email, and cloud applications — not just one system; endpoint detection and response (EDR) on every company device; offsite encrypted backup with tested restoration (insurers ask specifically whether you have tested your backup in the last 12 months); a documented incident response plan; network segmentation between operational and administrative systems; privileged access management (PAM) for administrator accounts; and email filtering with impersonation protection. Insurers are also increasingly asking about security awareness training completion rates and whether you have conducted a penetration test in the last 12 months. Businesses that cannot answer yes to these controls are either denied coverage or charged rates 3-5x the market average. Group 4 Networks provides a Cyber Insurance Readiness Assessment that reviews your current security posture against insurer requirements and delivers a gap remediation plan. Call (416) 623-9677 for a free readiness assessment.
About Group 4 Networks
Group 4 Networks is a Toronto Managed Service Provider delivering IT support, cybersecurity, cloud solutions, and technology consulting to businesses across the Greater Toronto Area since 2008.
- 200+ GTA businesses served with flat-rate managed IT plans
- 15-minute response time and 99.9% uptime SLA
- PIPEDA, PHIPA, SOC 2, and PCI-DSS compliance expertise
- Specialists in healthcare, legal, dental, financial, and construction IT
- Microsoft, Cisco, and cybersecurity certified specialists on staff
Contact us at (416) 623-9677 or visit https://g4ns.com to book a free IT assessment.