Cyber insurance renewal seasons have become increasingly difficult for Houston businesses since 2022. Carriers are requiring specific technical controls — and rejecting or significantly increasing premiums for businesses that can't prove they have them in place. Elevate Technology works with Houston CFOs, risk managers, and business owners to ensure that their managed IT environment meets the documentation and control requirements that underwriters demand before issuing or renewing a policy.

What Cyber Insurance Carriers Are Now Requiring

Major cyber insurance underwriters including Chubb, Travelers, and Coalition now require documented evidence of:

(1) Multi-factor authentication on all privileged and remote access accounts.

(2) Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) deployed on all endpoints — antivirus alone no longer qualifies.

(3) Immutable, tested backups stored offline or in an air-gapped environment.

(4) Employee security awareness training with documented phishing simulation results.

(5) A written Incident Response Plan. Houston businesses that can't produce documentation for all five controls face either policy non-renewal or premium increases of 30–80%.

Our managed cybersecurity services ensure you meet every requirement before your renewal date — not after.

What Your MSP Should Be Doing 90 Days Before Renewal

A proactive managed IT services provider should initiate a cyber insurance readiness review at least 90 days before your renewal date. This review should include: a gap analysis against your carrier's current questionnaire requirements, documentation of all security controls with evidence (screenshots, reports, policy acknowledgments), a review of your backup architecture and most recent tested restore, and an updated employee training completion report. Elevate Technology provides a complete cyber insurance readiness package — including a completed carrier questionnaire draft, control evidence binder, and incident response plan template — as part of our managed IT services for Houston businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What MFA solution satisfies cyber insurance requirements for Houston businesses?

Most carriers accept any TOTP-based (time-based one-time password) MFA solution for standard user accounts, but require phishing-resistant MFA (FIDO2/passkey or hardware key) for privileged accounts and remote access. Cisco Duo satisfies both requirements and provides the detailed authentication logs that underwriters increasingly require as evidence of MFA enforcement.

What happens if my Houston business files a cyber insurance claim without meeting all the documented controls?

Carriers have the right to deny claims or reduce payouts if the policyholder made material misrepresentations on the application about their security controls. If your application stated you had EDR deployed but your network was encrypted through an unprotected endpoint, the carrier may dispute the claim. Elevate Technology ensures that every control listed on your application is actually deployed and documented — not just checked as a box.

Cyber insurance renewal coming up? Get a Free Cyber Insurance Readiness Assessment from Elevate Technology →