Cyber insurance is an essential safeguard for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in 2025, especially with the escalating rate of cyber-attacks. Unfortunately, securing coverage is not as straightforward as filling out a form. Insurers require demonstrable cyber security measures, often including Cyber Essentials certification, to qualify for policies.
What Is Cyber Insurance & Why Is It Important for SMBs?
Cyber insurance is a policy that helps businesses recover from cyber-attacks, covering costs such as data breach notifications, legal fees, and business interruption losses. A recent article highlighted that the UK cyber insurance market is projected to grow from $1.53 billion in 2025 to $2.87 billion by 2030, reflecting the increasing recognition of cyber risks.
But why is cyber insurance crucial for SMBs? With more businesses increasing their cyber security spending, a growing awareness of cyber threats adds more pressure on SMBs to have adequate protection – helping them stand out within a highly competitive market.
Key Steps to Qualify for Cyber Insurance in 2025
To qualify for cyber insurance in 2025, SMBs need to take proactive steps that strategically bolster their cyber security measures. Insurers are looking for demonstrable actions that show your business is safeguarding against cyber threats. Let’s explore these steps in more detail:
- Achieve Cyber Essentials Certification
Remaining one of the most important requirements for businesses, Cyber Essentials is a crucial component of gaining cyber insurance. This government-backed certification scheme is designed to protect against common cyber threats by ensuring businesses follow basic practices.
With around 35,000 UK businesses with Cyber Essentials certification (as reported in this article), more businesses are striving for cyber security excellence to help them stand out. But as of April 2025, Cyber Essentials has evolved to include more rigorous standards:
- Passwordless Authentication: Businesses are now required to implement strong, passwordless login methods, like biometric security or multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Remote Working Security: With the rise of remote work, the updated guidelines now include security measures for remote access, ensuring employees working from home or other locations can safely access company systems.
- Vulnerability Management: Cyber Essentials now requires businesses to patch critical vulnerabilities within 14 days of a security update release, reducing the window of exposure to potential attacks.
- Implement Comprehensive Security Measures
Cyber Essentials is a great start, but insurers often expect businesses to have a range of additional cyber security measures in place beyond this. The following are essential for building a robust security framework:
- Firewalls and secure network gateways act as the first line of defence against external threats, controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic and blocking unauthorised access.
- Access control policies ensure that only authorised individuals can access sensitive company data and systems, based on their job roles.
- Malware protection means you can prevent, detect, and remove malware from company devices and networks with up-to-date antivirus software and endpoint protection.
- Regular Software Patching and Updates: Insurers will want to see that your business regularly updates software and hardware, applying patches to fix security vulnerabilities as soon as they are released.
- Maintain Compliance with Evolving Standards
With cyber security constantly changing, the standards and regulations that SMBs must comply with evolve too. Insurers will want to know that your business stays up-to-date with these requirements to ensure ongoing protection. Key areas of compliance to focus on include:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Any business that handles personal data must maintain compliance with GDPR. This regulation ensures that your business takes the necessary steps to protect personal data and respond appropriately to data breaches.
- NIS2 Directive: For businesses in sectors like healthcare or finance, the NIS2 Directive mandates enhanced security and reporting measures for critical infrastructure.
- Industry-Specific Regulations: There may be additional regulations that require compliance, like the FCA’s rules for financial services firms or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) for businesses handling payment card information.
- Review and Strengthen Incident Response Plans
Insurers expect businesses to have clear, well-documented incident response plans in place. This plan should outline the steps to be taken in the event of a cyber-attack or data breach, including:
- What steps should be taken immediately after a breach is detected to minimise damage (e.g., disconnecting affected systems from the network).
- Clearly defined procedures for notifying relevant stakeholders, including regulators, customers, and employees.
- A process for reviewing the incident after the fact to understand how the breach occurred and to implement improvements to prevent future incidents.
Redinet’s Expertise in Cyber Insurance for SMBs
At Redinet, we specialise in helping SMBs achieve Cyber Essentials certification and implement robust cyber security measures.
With our comprehensive IT support, SMBs can strategically enhance their cyber security posture, qualify for cyber insurance, and protect their operations from cyber threats. We offer:
- Guidance on Cyber Essentials Certification: Assisting businesses in understanding and meeting the requirements.
- Cyber Security Assessments: Identifying vulnerabilities and recommending appropriate fixes.
- Compliance Support: Ensuring businesses stay up-to-date with evolving cyber security standards.
Speak to an Expert Today
In 2025, qualifying for cyber insurance requires a commitment to robust cyber security practices and compliance with industry standards. Achieving Cyber Essentials certification is a critical step in this process.
Speak to one of our experts today to learn how we can help you enhance your cyber security measures and qualify for cyber insurance.
